


The Helmeted Hunter

by Masterjedilena



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Adventure, Boba Fett - Freeform, Bounty Hunting, Conflict, Emotional Constipation, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family, Fluff, Girl Power, Home, Making Out, Making Plans, Mystery, Reader-Insert, Rescue, Romance, Star Wars - Freeform, Team Up, friends - Freeform, gentle slow burn, lots of planets, making deals, trusting pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2020-11-02 18:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 50,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20813084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterjedilena/pseuds/Masterjedilena
Summary: You have a rather large bounty on your head, and Boba Fett is determined to collect it... that is, until you end up being the companion he didn't know he needed...





	1. Not So Long Ago, In a Galaxy Near You...

**Author's Note:**

> There's not enough Boba Fett content out there, so I wrote my own. Also apologies for the blunt opening. Mother Nature's a B.

_Great_.

You stared down at your underwear, cursing the splotch of red that had stained it some point earlier. There would be more where that came from; a lot more. And you were in the worst possible place to have to deal with it.

You quickly finished your business in the tiny lavatory, but slowly crept back down the hall toward the front of the ship you were on. You were using this time to come up with the least awkward way to ask for the... supplies... you needed. You weren't embarrassed, per se; this was a natural bodily function and if others found it uncomfortable to discuss, that was their problem. But you'd never had to ask for such a thing before and weren't sure exactly how to go about it. Plus, there was the possibility your... captor? Host? Keeper? Whoever... would not oblige your request and make you suffer in a miserable mess.

It had been a few days since you'd unexpectedly been sucked through a portal to an unknown planet. Other people had, too. People you'd never seen before. You were all disoriented and confused. No one knew where to even begin explaining what was happening. Eventually, the lot of you had stumbled your way into a town with strange-looking locals, a species you'd never heard of before. Even more odd was they had not been surprised to see a group of ragtag foreigners appear from nowhere.

You'd all quickly learned your situation was not uncommon. Mysterious cosmic portals had been randomly sucking people out of one planet and spitting them onto another for a short while now. Certain groups, from scientists looking for answers to slimy hustlers looking to profit off the hype, were eager to snatch up these unwitting travelers. The locals explained it would only be a matter of time before they came for you all.

Your group had divided itself. Some felt that any scientists studying the phenomena would be able to give them answers, and be likely to help them return home. Others, like yourself, decided they valued freedom a little higher than answers, and rather than wait to be picked up in town, tried to run off and hide. You'd managed to evade capture for a full thirty-nine hours. One-by-one the others from your group were picked up by various bounty hunters, while you watched quietly and safely from the shadows. You were beginning to think you could actually survive like this, no problem.

But then came Boba Fett.

You slowly approached the helmeted hunter as he sat atop a metal box in the cargo hold of the ship you were now on. The Slave I. You didn't quite feel like a slave, but the cage just to his right reminded you that you were definitely a prisoner. He was turned slightly away from the hallway you were emerging from, a pipe of some kind resting in his lap as he sanded down one end of it. In the two days you had been held here, you only ever saw him tinkering with various objects and machinery. You had no reference for what anything was, having only used commercial transports when traveling between planets in the past. But he seemed to like to keep busy, so when he wasn't occupied up in the cockpit flying the ship, he was fiddling with things near your cage in the cargo hold.

And he kept his helmet on, always.

If he noticed you'd returned from your business, you couldn't tell. You suspected he did, though, based on how sharp and observant he had been in capturing you in the first place. The other hunters you'd hidden from may have been bigger and scarier, but they had overlooked your hiding spots and hadn't even cocked an ear in curiosity when you'd occasionally, and not always quietly, scurry behind them. This man, though, was a clear notch above the rest. Nothing had escaped his attention.

You cleared your throat awkwardly, needing him to actually acknowledge your presence. He slowly turned his helmet away from his work to look at you. You could only imagine he probably looked irritated, or maybe just ambivalent. It really sucked having to communicate this sensitive topic to a masked face.

"Sorry, Mr. Fett, um..." You weren't really sure how to address the guy, and he hadn't corrected you when you'd first said it the day before, so you stuck with the formality. "I was just wondering if... well, would it be possible for me to get some... um... feminine products?"

That hadn't been the choice of words you'd settled on walking back from the bathroom, but your nervousness made you forget what they were supposed to be. Oh well.

The bounty hunter didn't respond. Or move. Or give any indication he'd even heard your words, let alone comprehended and formed an opinion about them. You shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he did the whole helmet-shtick on purpose just to mess with his prisoners. Intentional or not, it was certainly working.

"You know..." you decided to offer an additional explanation. You weren't one to feel the need to fill awkward silences, but this was ridiculous. "Because it's that time of the month? And I'm not... you know... prepared? Having been sucked through a portal without advance notice and all?"

There was another moment of nothing but staring at his expressionless helmet before he sighed. There it was. Just a hint of an emotion: annoyance. He flicked up a panel on one of his wrist cuffs, inspecting the readout for a few seconds before snapping it back shut and standing.

"There's an outpost in two hours." He wasn't looking your way anymore, instead starting to rearrange a box of pipes in order to fit the newly refurbished one. You'd heard his voice a few times now, always filtered through that damn helmet. It was low and clipped, like it was a bother for him to have to speak. But it was also pleasant, in a way. It was an accent different than your own and had a kind of cadence that put you at ease. Maybe that's why you weren't completely freaking out about him holding you captive and transporting you to some unknown, high-paying entity across the galaxy. If any of those other brutish hunters had manage to grab you instead... ugh. You shuddered at the thought.

Two hours. That was gracious enough, you supposed. You could manage that. He finished with his pipe-fiddling and was now ushering you back into the cage. It was just big enough for you to lay down in, and came with a surprisingly snuggly blanket, so you couldn't complain about it. But there were shackles in the corner that he always ensured were secure on your wrists. That part you did feel entitled to complain about. You were already locked behind bars, on a ship you had no clue how to operate, deep in space and who knew how far from home... What could the chains possibly be adding to the situation?

But you let him fix them back on without protest, watching in silence as he closed the gate and made his way out of sight. His departure made the room feel empty and you were once again faced with the worst part of this whole experience. Time. So much of it, with so little to do.

You sighed and wrapped the blanket around your form, trying to think of ways to entertain yourself for the next two hours....


	2. Little Shop of Everything

He stood in front of your cage with his hands on his hips, staring at you... or perhaps the bars... or the wall. Who could tell. It was like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. You figured you were probably the first of his prisoners to make such a request and now he had to decide on the logistics. A part of you couldn't help but feel special, to be the first of something. But mostly you were just uncomfortable waiting for him to make up his mind about whatever decision he was wresting with.

Finally he moved, opening the barred door and gesturing for you to stand. He removed the shackles from your wrists, which were hurting the more you wore them. They weren't tight, but they were heavy, as if made to restrain someone - or something - bigger than you. He was silent as he guided you to the back of the ship. When you reached the hatch that would lead outside, he halted and rummaged through a compartment in the wall.

You peered curiously over his shoulder. He pulled out two objects, one of which he promptly snapped over your upper left forearm.

"Ow," you said. It hadn't hurt, but you felt the need to say it anyway.

There was a low red light pulsing from the cuff now on your arm, and a matching light flickered on the other object that he held. He stuck it against the wall before pushing a button on a nearby control panel and opening the hatch door.

"Run too far and you get shocked," was the only explanation he gave about the bizarre set of actions that just occurred.

You glanced at the light on your arm uneasily, hating how it glowed ominously. How unnecessary. As if you would try to run given your situation.

You followed him down the ramp and into the daylight. It took you a minute of furious blinking to adjust to the sudden brightness. You hadn't expected to recognize the planet you'd landed on, but you were still disappointed by its unfamiliar appearance nonetheless. The ground was mostly dirt with the occasional weed poking through. Buildings were scattered haphazardly across the plain, no sense of order or pattern to them. A group of kids from various species kicked a ball around in the distance. Their laughter and shouts carried over in the slight breeze passing by.

Boba Fett was ahead of you, marching toward a building that didn't seem any different than the others, but you trusted his judgment and picked up your pace to follow. A strange smell hit you as soon as you walked through the doorway. It didn't take you long to pinpoint it was coming from the strange looking animal being roasted on a spit behind the cash counter.

"Get what you need," Boba Fett instructed as he turned away down the first aisle.

You were in some kind of store, though you couldn't figure out what kind as it seemed to have everything. There was fresh food being made on one end. Strings of dried meats and fruits hung like vines from the ceiling. The shelves and stands themselves had every item imaginable, from tools to shoes to stuffed animals to medicine. One wall had coats hanging, in every color of the rainbow. In the back corner seemed to be a bunch of brightly lit lamps.

You passed by it all slowly and in awe. Much like the buildings outside, there was no rhyme or reason to where anything was. You found a box of nuts and bolts next to a stand of fresh flowers, which was just across from a stack of designer pillows, which was above a row of pill bottles. You had no clue where to begin looking for what you needed.

The only employee was a creature with six arms sitting on a stool by the register. It looked to be asleep. You decided to keep wading through the aisles until you either lucked out or ran into Boba Fett again and asked for his assistance.

You twisted and turned around the store, surprised such a small place could hold so much. You were trying to make mental notes of all the things you saw, in case one day you made it back home and needed details for the story you'd tell your family.

Your family.

You'd been trying your very best to not think about them, to just live from moment to moment until you could finally make it back. But every so often, and without much warning, you'd find their faces flashing in your mind and a pang of sadness would hit you square in the chest.

Thankfully some clothes caught your eye from the next stand over and you forced yourself to shake off the feeling. If no one could tell you were wearing the same clothes you'd been teleported in several days ago by their wrinkled and dusty appearance, they certainly could by the smell. You draped a few articles over your arm as you passed by, figuring it was worth a shot to try buying them. You had been told to get what you need, after all....

Several minutes later and Boba Fett ended up circling his way back around to you, finding you scowling between two almost identical boxes of tampons. Everything on the products was in a strange language. You'd seen the symbols on the Slave I, but they were nothing like the languages from your planet.

"What does this say?" you asked, pointing to a group of symbols on one box that you'd finally deciphered were not on the other.

"Organic," the man grunted before walking past you and back toward the front of the store.

You decided organic was too hippy for your comfort, especially considering there was mystery sausage hanging just above your head, and so you grabbed the other box and hastily made your way to the counter.

Boba Fett didn't protest to the clothes you tossed onto the pile, much to your surprise and relief. Also surprising were the few things he'd picked up for himself: a razor, blaster cartridges, and a book. Again, you couldn't understand the symbols on it to tell if it was more of a manual or a bedtime story. You secretly hoped it was the later. Anything to show this strange man wasn't as dark and serious as he tried to come across.

The six-armed creature was ringing up the items while also shaving meat off the animal on the spit. Boba Fett was pointing to it and speaking in an unknown tongue. As you waited for the additional purchase, your eyes wandered to a section of the back wall that was filled with posters and other notices. Some were old and starting to fall off. But there was one that was newer, tacked over the top of the others. At the top in a large font were a few of those strange symbols. And at the bottom, a blurred picture of a face.

Your face.


	3. A Shocking Turn of Events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this fic wanting to write a romance, and three chapters in, it's turning into more of a mystery. I guess the plot writes itself sometimes. And the romance will happen... eventually....

You could feel heat in your cheeks as you stared at the notice over the counter. In addition to your picture - which had been taken by one of your friends almost a year ago - and what you assumed to be your name, there was also a number listed. Those symbols you did understand. One million. You weren't sure how much money that was worth out in these parts, but it sure was a lot of zeroes.

Something hit your hand. Boba Fett was trying to hand you a bag with your items. You numbly took it and followed him out of the store, careful to keep your face turned from the creature behind the counter as you passed. It hadn't so much as glanced in your direction, but you didn't want to take any chances of it recognizing you as a wanted fugitive.

Back outside, the light was starting to fade. You kept your eyes trained on the bounty hunter in front of you as you made your way back to the Slave I. Wasn't he lucky, you thought bitterly, getting a big paycheck out of you. What would he spend it on? More razors?

But of greater concern was how in the galaxy they had gotten that photo of you. And how they knew your name. Who even were they? You tried to wrap your head around it, tried to comprehend what was really going on. You were far from the planet you'd originally landed on by now. How were there already notices up for your capture out here? And why only you and none of the others that had befallen a similar fate? This was far more than some fluke cosmic accident.

You'd been caught up in your dazed thoughts and hadn't noticed the hunter had stopped walking. You pulled up abruptly, nose brushing against the jetpack sticking out on his back.

"Sorry..." Your voice faltered on the last syllable. Looking over his shoulder, just in front of the Slave I, you could clearly make out a row of stormtroopers. They had guns trained in your direction but otherwise their stance was relaxed. Still, you decided to stay behind the bounty hunter.

"Well, well, if it isn't the infamous Boba Fett," a drawling voice came from behind you. In one swift motion, Boba turned and moved to the side, keeping you behind him. He had his gun out now, which shifted between the stormtroopers on his left and the newcomer on his right.

The man was clearly some Imperial whoop-de-doo, with a sweeping white cloak and a smart-looking hat. He had two soldiers in dark armor flanking him as he languidly drew closer.

"I should have guessed you'd be the first to jump on this opportunity," he said with a smug expression. He made a show of sizing the bounty hunter up, taking note of the bags both you and Boba were carrying. "Though I must say, a shopping trip is a bit premature."

"What do you want, Krennic?" Boba replied. You could sense the same irritation in his voice from earlier.

"That's Commander Krennic to you now. Much has changed since our paths last crossed, Fett."

You'd only heard of the Empire, its influencing not quite reaching your home. A few of the neighboring planets had Imperial outposts, but they were small and poorly funded, with many of the stationed personnel integrating into the culture as friendly citizens. Your parents had explained your planet was too far out of the Empire's way to spare resources conquering it.

Now that you were face-to-face with the real Empire, you couldn't help but feel even more out of your element. Your stomach twisted at this dramatic but intimidating man as he stopped just a few feet away. The stormtroopers from the other side had moved closer as well. Was he the one posting your face around the galaxy? What did the Empire want with you?

When Boba didn't respond, the Commander drawled on.

"But we can catch up another time. The daylight is fading and I have other things to take care of. Come now, hand her over."

Instinctually, you reached out to grab the back of Boba's sleeve. You did _not_ want to be handed over to this man.

"I don't have business with you," Boba said evenly. _Thank God_, you thought.

"One million credits says you do."

"I have an offer for five."

Krennic's mouth twitched as he considered this. You were surprised as well. Not only did it turn out the Empire was the group willing to pay a premium for your capture, but there was a mysterious other being willing to pay more. What in the world....

"Impossible," the Commander eventually said with a chuckle. "You're trying to raise the price. Such tactics won't work with me."

Boba reached around and took hold of your arm. "If she isn't worth it to you, then I have no business here." He started to lead you away.

"You don't have a choice," Krennic scoffed. He flicked a hand at the stormtroopers, who started closing in around you. Boba let go of your arm so he could support his gun with both hands. He carefully positioned himself in front of you defensively.

A surge of panic welled up within you, making your throat dry and your jaw clench. You didn't want to be anyone's prisoner... the Empire's, Fett's, the other buyer's.... You still had it in the back of your mind that you were capable of surviving on your own. Your thirty-nine hours of experience hiding on a strange planet was surely proof. So with a blaze of unwarranted confidence, you turned on your heel and began running.

Your feet pounded the loose dirt beneath you as you took off. You could hear shouts and blasters firing. One blast hit the ground just to the side of you, the rest you could feel blowing past your head before they made impact on the buildings in front of you.

_Damn it_.

You'd hoped that being so valuable would mean they wouldn't shoot at you. But apparently the price was still good even if you were injured.

Suddenly, Boba Fett was landing in front of you, having used his jetpack to catch up. He had his gun lowered but was trying to grab at your arms. You only had your bag of tampons and clothes to use as a weapon, thus you promptly swung it at him. He let it fall pathetically against the armor on his chest, snatching it up before it fell to the ground. It was enough of a distraction to buy you a second to run past him.

You could no longer hear the blasters. You stole a quick glance over your shoulder to see that while the stormtroopers weren't booking it like you were, they were still close enough to shoot. But they held their weapons down, looking back at their Commander hesitantly. The man was speed walking over to them, pointing and yelling.

You turned back around and saw their problem. Several yards in front of you was the group of kids from earlier. They had stopped their ball game and were watching in horror at the scene playing out in their town. Some adults, their parents most likely, were rushing for them, crying for their safety.

A dark, selfish thought came to you. They wouldn't hurt these kids. Surely. If you ran with one of them, just long enough to get inside a building somewhere....

Before you could talk yourself out of it, you sprinted on. There was one little boy who hadn't been snatched up by his parents yet. He was frozen to the spot, eyes wide and mouth agape. You made a beeline for him, moving your arms out in preparation.

And then suddenly, you were on the ground.

Sharp, fiery pain radiated up and down your body. Your muscles spasmed. Your throat constricted. Your ears were wringing. Something cold and wet trickled from your nose. You felt paralyzed, unable to move or cry out in pain.

You stared helplessly up a the dull orange sky until, eventually, it all faded to black.


	4. Feeling Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is so short. I have a lot of ideas for the next scene and didn't want to try cramming them all into this one. Stay tuned....

When you came to, all you could think was _Ow_. Everything hurt. Your muscles, your joints, your brain.... It was like your insides had been set on fire.

You sat up slowly, realizing you were back in your cage on the Slave I. You couldn't fathom how you could've ended up anywhere other than an Imperial prison, given your memories of the events leading up to your unconsciousness. Though you were trying to be careful and not make sudden movements, you couldn't help but whip your head around in confusion.

Boba Fett was sitting on a crate next to your cage, staring. He had his arms crossed and his feet planted firmly in front of him. You didn't need to see under his helmet to know he was upset.

"I told you not to run far," he said in a low voice.

_Of course_, you realized. It had been that band he put on your arm that had incapacitated you. You hadn't realized how much ground you had covered running from the stormtroopers. How embarrassing.

"But, how..." You were still looking around, as if the answers you were looking for were painted on the walls. "How did..."

"With a lot of difficulty, thanks to you," he growled. "You were a fool to run like that."

His tone snapped you out of your daze. You fixed him with an equally unfriendly stare.

"Well excuse me for being eager to escape," you said, trying to keep your voice as steady as his. "Being a prisoner isn't exactly enjoyable_, _you know."

"You'd have an even worse time with the Empire." He huffed and stood up. "I could've got us out of there quicker if you'd just stayed put."

He walked to the other side of the cargo hold... or rather, he limped. And he was mumbling something about using up all his stun rockets. You suddenly felt bad. It must not have been easy for him to fight his way through all those soldiers, and while carrying your unconscious body no doubt. Even if he was only concerned about protecting his payday, he had still more or less saved your life. You weren't going to apologize, since he still had you locked in a cage, but you at least let yourself _feel_ grateful.

He limped back toward you, having picked up something stashed in the back corner. Your bag of tampons. He opened the cage door and threw it in, along with another package. Based on the smell, you guess it was the meat he'd ordered from the shop.

Now you felt really bad. You sighed and forced out a quiet _thank you. _He grunted before coming in to remove the chains from your wrists. As he worked, your mind wandered back to the confusing information you'd learned earlier about yourself.

"What do they want with me?" you asked. When Boba didn't respond, you clarified, "Why would someone pay five million for me?"

"Don't know. Don't care." He threw the loose chains into the corner and walked out ahead of you.

"Well you must know something," you insisted. "At least who it is. And where you're meeting them."

He led you down the corridor to the lavatory, making to stand next to it with his arms crossed. Clearly he wasn't trusting you to go anywhere on your own anymore.

"If I knew, I wouldn't tell you," was all he had to say before closing the door on you.

* * *

It felt better to have a change of clothes and your business _down there_ taken care of. You still smelled like shit, and your hair clung to your neck in greasy strands, but you could deal with that later. Once Boba forgave you for making him use up all his rockets and injuring his leg... then you'd work on convincing him to let you have a shower....

He'd spoken to you more in the span of five minutes than the entire three days you'd now known him. But now he was back to giving you the silent treatment. He'd ignored all your follow up questions about your mysterious buyer, promptly chaining you back in the cage and leaving you alone for the rest of the day. You'd eaten the meat (which thankfully tasted much better than it smelled), stretched your still-aching muscles, and then snuggled up with the blanket for a nap. It was all you could really do. Hours seemed to pass with nothing but your confused thoughts and half-hearted daydreams to keep you company. You weren't even in view of a window to watch the stars pass by.

Just when you thought you'd go crazy from the boredom and loneliness, you felt the gravity in the ship start to shift. It was landing.

Boba appeared a few moments later, going through the process of unchaining you again and leading you to the outside hatch. This time, however, instead of strapping you with another shock device on your arm, he fastened a fiber-cord to his belt, looping it through the belt loops on your own pants. _Fantastic_, you groaned internally. You were being leashed.

You expected him to give you another warning about running away, but instead he just stared at you in silence for a few seconds. You flushed but got the message loud and clear. You certainly would not try to spontaneously escape again.

No, next time you'd have an actual plan.


	5. Takodana Castle

You figured it'd been about two weeks since you were first brought aboard the Slave I. It was hard to tell, traveling in space. Every "day" or so, the ship would land somewhere and Boba would go out on some kind of business. Sometimes he'd take you with him, tying you up to his belt like a dog. You never understood what he was up to as he'd talk to people in languages you didn't understand. But you welcomed the chance to get out of the ship and enjoy the fresh air.

Other times, though, he'd leave you alone in your cage. You didn't care so much for these moments. Being dragged around on strange planets on a leash may have been humiliating, but it was nothing compared to the crushing loneliness and boredom you already had to suffer as Boba piloted his ship around the galaxy. The one silver lining was that your tampon box had come with a little pencil and calendar to help keep track of your cycle. You instead used the pencil to start translating the box. You clearly remembered the symbols that had been on your wanted poster in that crazy shop, the ones that undoubtedly spelled your name. Using that as a starting point, you'd been able to decipher other words on the box and learn some new symbols. It was a simple way to the pass the time.

You'd also tried coming up with an escape plan, but that activity was less than fulfilling. No matter what crazy ideas you came up with, you'd inevitably find ways you knew they wouldn't pan out. Boba Fett was just too smart for you. Every outing he'd take you on, you were on the lookout for opportunities to break loose and run, or hide. But as soon as you'd spot one, the bounty hunter was already in the process of preventing you from taking it. Your other ideas involved you having physical capabilities you certainly didn't possess. It was maddening.

Today, you'd expected the hunter to leave you behind as he landed on a new unknown planet. You were prepared to entertain yourself by singing; you were too scared to let out more than a low hum whenever Boba was on board, so you were going to take advantage of the solitude and belt out every show tune you could think of.

But apparently Boba was changing up his routine now. He collected you from the cage, secured you to his waist, and promptly ushered you out into a leafy green world.

The two of you traipsed across uneven, mossy floor through what you could only describe as a jungle. Trees and shrubs jutted out from every nook and crevice. You stumbled multiple times, misjudging an unstable rock for a firm foothold. Eventually you discovered that by swallowing your dignity and hanging onto Boba's arm, you were able to make it with fewer scrapes and stubbed toes. He didn't offer you any help, but didn't protest to you clinging to him either.

After a few minutes of miserable trudging, you emerged in a clearing. Toward your left was glistening blue water. You smiled as it reminded you of childhood trips to the lake on your home world. But more impressive was the looming stone fortress in front of you. You gazed up at it in wonder and Boba forged on toward its entrance, pulling you with him.

The courtyard was littered with flags with varying colors and images on them. A massive statue of a female-looking creature with arms held high sat atop the tower above the front door. Though it was all visually overwhelming, you felt an odd sense of peace in this place. Even the helmeted man walking beside you, who was usually so uptight and somber, seemed to have relaxed a little.

As you approached the a set of double doors ahead, you noticed one of the flags hanging above it had the same symbol from the armor on Boba's shoulder. It looked like a melting skull of a tusked animal. You'd always thought it was a random decal he used to look more intimidating. But seeing it on a flag on this planet suggested it had much more meaning. A dozen questions ran through your head that you ached to have answered. Where was he from? What did the skull mean? Did he miss home? Were there others of his kind flying around, capturing prisoners and collecting bounties? Or was he an outcast? A rebel? A traitor?

Inside the castle, you were greeted by a sign written in multiple languages. Your face brightened as you recognized one of the scripts as your own. Finally, something you could make sense of! It read, _All are welcome (No fighting)_. Short, to the point, and incredibly comforting. It occurred to you, as you were lead deeper into the fortress, that the only times Boba had taken you on his excursions was when there was a clear indication of safety. The times he'd gone solo, he'd come rushing back on board as if chased. Once he'd even had a spot of blood on his armor.

You knew deep down it only meant he was dedicated to getting the five million credits on your head. But with your friends and family so far away and with no guarantee of you ever seeing them again, it was nice to know someone was looking after you.

There was a bar in the middle of the large room you now found yourself in. All manner of people and creatures gathered around it, chatting and drinking and laughing. A band played a jazzy tune on a small stage in the back. Booths and smaller rooms jutted out from along the surrounding walls. A litany of various languages reached your ears, and you were pleased to be able to understand a few of them. There were some species you recognized as well, though no familiar faces specifically. It seemed like all walks of life were represented, able to relax alongside each other as they enjoyed a reprieve from daily life.

You immediately fell in love with the place.

"Ah! Boba Fett!" a vibrant voice reached your ears, speaking your language. A tall, impeccably dressed older man practically skipped over, extending a hand to the bounty hunter. "It's been ages since you've graced us with a visit!"

Boba did not accept the handshake, saying only, "I'm here for Maz."

The man, a human but with orange-tinted skin, waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, I know. She sends her sincerest apologies. An urgent, personal matter has taken her away for the foreseeable future. But she has a appraised me of your agreement and I am happy to help in her stead."

He gave an overdramatic bow, a wide grin plastered across his wrinkly face. You wished you had a helmet on yourself, so you could roll your eyes at this goofy man in privacy.

"Ah, and you, my dear, must be the precious cargo," the man turned his attention to you. His eyes scanned you over like he assessing the quality of a diamond necklace. He held a hand out toward your face, as if to caress it, but both you and Boba stepped just out of the way to send the message. The man smoothly recovered, taking his hand back and chuckling softly. "No need to worry. I don't bite."

"My business is not with you, Elon."

Boba made to turn you back toward the door, but the man quickly jumped forward, his hands clasped in an almost prayer.

"Please, my good sir. I didn't mean any disrespect. Maz entrusted me personally to get you the information you need, and give it to you I shall. Please, this way."

He gestured with a sweeping arm toward a staircase that led to a second floor. A balcony wrapped around most of the below area, and you could make out more little nooks nestled in the walls. Boba was silent for a few seconds before begrudgingly leading you to follow the man upstairs.

Boba made you slide into the offered booth first. You were both on the opposite side of a table from the man called Elon. A curtain was pulled over the opening for a bit of privacy, making the air feel more stuffy. Muted sounds from the bar downstairs wafted through. You wished so badly to be out there, enjoying the liveliness, rather than cooped up in the company of an assassin and his business partner.

"Well?" Fett demanded, impatient. Elon shifted in his seat, glancing at the curtain as if someone might open it at any second, but he still had a smile on his features anyway.

"To the point, as ever," he laughed, taking out a cigar. _Ugh, _you felt yourself dreading the inevitable cloud of smoke that would fill this tiny space. Now you wished you'd just been left in the ship.

"So there isn't much to share, unfortunately. Your man never stays in one location for long. No name, no real descriptions. But Maz did find something that may prove useful."

Elon paused with a smirk, waiting for Boba to beg him to continue. But when the plea didn't come, and no other words or sounds for that matter, he huffed on his cigar and started digging in his jacket pocket.

You didn't think you had to pay attention to their conversation, believing this to be some side hustle the hunter had picked up while transporting you. So it didn't register they were discussing anything related to your situation until Elon set down a device onto the table that you instantly recognized.

"Hey..." you started to say, reaching for the device. But Boba was quick to snatch it up, twisting it around to inspect it.

"What is it?"

You didn't care about your status as his prisoner. You grabbed the object from his hands and held it tightly to your chest.

"It's _mine_."


	6. No Fighting

There was no reason for you to be so excited to see your old, outdated, barely-functioning music player other than the fact you'd never expected to see any of your belongings while captive on a strange planet. But you were.

"Where did you get this?" you asked of the man sitting across the table. You held the device close to your chest, not wanting it to be taken from you while you tried to wrap your head around what was happening.

A trail of smoke wafted from the cigar in his mouth. He shrugged. "Maz found it."

"Where?" Both you and Boba asked in unison. You glanced over at the bounty hunter, puzzled.

Elon exhaled a cloud of smoke as he nodded at Boba. "She tracked your transmission to a planet in the outer rim. Jelucan. But all she found was some abandoned hovel with nothing but a chair and... that... whatever it is. Nothing about who this buyer is or where he can be found next."

It suddenly clicked with you."Wait, you don't even know who you're doing business with?" You couldn't help but sound bewildered as you now addressed your captor. What kind of bounty hunter was he?

It was unclear what emotion Boba was regarding you with as he trained his helmet in your direction and stared in silence.

"Feisty little thing," the man called Elon said with a chuckle.

Boba stayed silent a moment longer and then cleared his throat as he turned to your host across the table.

"Thanks for the information." He dug out a satchel of coins from his pocket and tossed it on the table.

Elon puffed on his cigar, his fingers dancing over the small bag.

"No need for payment, Fett. You know Maz prefers to deal in favors. Besides...."

The old man's nervousness you'd noticed earlier suddenly returned as he shifted around in his seat, grinding his cigar in an ashtray and glancing at the curtain that closed in the booth. You could feel Boba tensing beside you. Only a couple of weeks with the guy and you were already picking up on the subtle cues of his emotions.

"I've been compensated elsewhere." Elon looked up from slightly hooded lids with an expression you couldn't name but were frightened by nonetheless. His mouth twitched in a grimace. "I had no choice."

The curtain drew back to reveal two figures holding guns. They seemed human-esque, but it was hard to know for sure underneath their bulky vests and dark cloaks and robotic-looking helmets. You gulped at their appearance, grateful that Boba was sitting between you and whatever new threat they presented.

Boba was still tense, but did not immediately react. He calmly took back his money and addressed the cowering old man. "You would break Maz's one rule for this?"

Elon was staring at his folded hands on the table. "There's no need to break any rules, Fett. If you cooperate with them..."

Boba scoffed. "Cooperate with Crimson Dawn. How funny."

"Give us the girl," one of the figures said, its voice distorted and garbled by the helmet it wore.

Your heart felt like it stopped beating. This was all becoming too much for you. Why did everyone from low-life bounty hunters to the Empire want you so badly? What value were you to these people? Why could you not just go home and resume your normal, boring life in peace?

Boba rose, stepping out of the booth to stand in front of these "Crimson Dawn" people. He was significantly shorter than them, but he didn't seem to let that fact faze him. He looked up at them confidently and said, "You'll have to fight me for her."

You remembered the sign from the entrance: _All are welcome (No fighting)._ The one rule in Maz's palace. Boba was challenging them.

"Very well," the other one said.

It all happened so quickly. Guns were raised but never fired. Punches were thrown and kicks were landed. The curtain was somehow pulled down and used as a weapon. The lively sounds from the bar below ceased as the other guests started to notice what was happening upstairs. Their fight eventually sent the three mercenaries careening down the hall and out of your sight. Elon was long gone.

You stayed curled in the corner of the booth, not daring to move from its current safety. It took you an embarrassingly long time to realize that you were no longer tethered to the bounty hunter's belt anymore. The cord was still tied around your waist, but the end lay limp on the seat next to you. Boba must have unstrapped it at some point earlier, knowing a fight was possible and that he couldn't bring you into it.

One of the cloaked figures rolled back down the hall and into your view. At first it seemed to be knocked out, but then you could see it stirring, getting a feel for its surroundings again. It looked behind its shoulder at the fight it'd just been pushed from, and then it looked over at you.

Your body reacted on pure instinct. You climbed over the table and made to run the opposite way down the hall. The figure's hand caught your wrist, yanking you back forcefully. You yelped out in surprise and tried to twist yourself from its grip. The music player had been in your hand and was now clattering onto the ground, but you couldn't worry about that. Its other hand reached out to grasp your shoulder. Now that its body was square with yours, you took advantage and thrust out a leg toward its midsection. Your foot did not connect as forcefully as you wanted, barely pushing the creature a step backward and not even loosening its hold on you. You were about to throw your whole body at it when a blaster shot rang out and the figure collapsed in front of you.

A few feet away, Boba was turning to block an attack from the second figure, but you caught enough of his stance to know he'd been the one to shoot.

You didn't dwell, deciding this was finally your chance to make a run for it once and for all. You dashed back down the stairs and slipped into the crowd that had gathered to watch the action on the balcony above. You could hear clashing and banging and even some grunting. A bronze protocol droid rushed past you, calling out for the fighting to stop, _or else_.

You casually made your way back out the front entrance, the courtyard all but deserted in favor of watching the fight inside. You paused to catch your breath and calm your nerves.

It occurred to you that you had a few options to proceed. You could try to navigate this planet on your own, as you once did when you'd first been spat through the portal. That hadn't turned out so well. And with so many people out to get you, it'd be even harder to hide on your own.

You could go back inside and find someone to help you. A kind soul or a smuggler, even. They wouldn't need to know who you were or that you had a hefty bounty on your head. Just that you needed a ride home.

Except, you weren't sure that home was the right place to go at the moment. You'd turned so you were looking up at the statue above the entrance, assuming this was the Maz they kept referring to. She'd been looking for the buyer and instead found your music player. Someone out there had your things. You wanted, _needed_ to know how and why.

Your gaze wandered down to fixate on the flag with the melting skull. And with a sinking feeling, you knew where you needed to go.

* * *

Boba Fett stomped back through the forest to his ship, kicking aside rocks and swatting away branches with annoyance. But when he finally rounded the hill and came into view of the Slave I, he halted his angry march in surprise.

You gave him a little wave from your perch on the ship's ramp. On the one hand, you took pleasure in catching him off guard like this. He no doubt believed you had run away, and instead, here you were waiting for him. In a way, it gave you a sense of power to be so unexpected.

But on the other hand, you were also relieved to see him. You'd hoped he'd escape the fight with Crimson Dawn like he had with the Imperial troopers, but there was no guarantee. What if he hadn't made it back? You didn't know how to pilot a ship, or even how to open the front door. And, also, despite not being a fan of your status as his prisoner, you'd still be a little sad if something happened to him. You weren't so cold hearted as to celebrate someone's demise.

He slowly, almost cautiously, approached you. You stood and met him at the foot of the ramp.

"You could've been halfway off the planet by now," he said.

You gave a small smirk. "No, I'd be dead at the bottom of a cliff by now. The truth is... I kind of need you...."

You felt your cheeks start to heat into a blush so you quickly looked away. You weren't sure why you were suddenly embarrassed; your plan had worked great in your head, but admitting you needed this bounty hunter's help sounded awkward out loud. You cleared your throat and tried to start over.

"Look, I know you're only protecting me because you want to get paid. But I'll take it. I don't need a friend, I just need help figuring out what's going on. I want to find this buyer as much as you do."

As expected, he was silent. But you knew now he was only thinking, processing your words, deciding how to respond. You gave him a little time, but ended up adding, "So, you're kind of stuck with me."

He huffed, the closest sound to a laugh he could manage.

"Alright, then," he nodded, starting to make his way up the ramp. As he walked past you, he paused long enough to fish something out of his pocket and hand to you.

Your music player.

As you followed him back into the Slave I, you let yourself smile, cheerful and hopeful.


	7. No More Chains

"If you don't know who the buyer is, then how do you know there even is one?"

You had followed Boba Fett into the cargo hold, your question hot on his heels. He began removing the jetpack from his back as he answered.

"I received a transmission describing the exact time and place a woman of your description would appear. An advancement of one million credits was already in my account and the promise of four more if I delivered you. But the signal dropped before it could say where."

He was now walking back out and toward the ladder to the cockpit. He paused with a foot on the bottom rung and turned his helmeted head back toward you.

"If that device truly belongs to you, then I'd say you have a better guess who could be after you."

You looked down at the music player still clutched in your hands. You shook your head. "I really don't. None of this makes sense. I'm just a normal person."

"Not any more," he stated before resuming his climb up the ladder.

It was only after his boots disappeared onto the level above that you realized he hadn't locked you up in your cage. For a moment you were relieved... elated, even. Not only did it mean your now fragile and aching wrists could get reprieve from those horrible shackles, but it also showed the bounty hunter trusted you to some extent now. Working alongside him to figure out this mystery sounded much better than being a useless prisoner.

But as you felt the ship starting to take off, back into the cosmos, you were suddenly very self conscious. What were you to do with this newfound freedom, exactly? It's not like there was much more to do outside of your cage than within it.

You briefly considered just crawling back into your barred room and calling it a day. But then a wave of boldness washed over you, and instead you found yourself climbing up into the cockpit of the Slave I.

Boba did a double take as he watched your form slide timidly into the seat next to his. You were quick to notice the chinstrap of his helmet was undone and one hand quickly moved away from it and back to the joystick on his seat. If only you had hesitated a few more seconds, you could've finally seen the bounty hunter unmasked.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sounding annoyed. Apparently his hospitality was starting to wear thin.

"Thought I'd keep you company," you tried to keep things lighthearted.

"I don't need company."

"Then why do you have a second seat up here?" you quickly shot back. He didn't respond, merely keeping his helmet trained at the endless expanse of space in front of him.

You gazed out at it yourself, marveling at the vastness of it all. You'd never flown in space before. Well, technically, you had been flying for a few weeks now, but this was the first time you decided it counted, now that you could see it all. Tiny dots of light painted your view, glimmering with untold stories and possibilities. You'd once dreamed of visiting them all as a child, back before you knew how expensive and restricted such travel was. And now here you were, zipping past them and around them and through them.

All else aside, this was the adventure of your life.

You wondered where you were traveling next, and was about to ask when you started thinking back on the planet you had just left. Maz's planet. You'd really liked it there, wishing you could've stayed longer and under different circumstances. But the situation you'd caused surely came with consequences.

"Are you in trouble for fighting back there?" you asked of your company.

He let out a long, almost sad, breath before answering. "Considering the one and only rule was no fighting, yeah, I'd say I am."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"No, I meant, I feel sorry for you," you clarified. You weren't sure why you were blushing all of a sudden and you hoped he couldn't see it from the corner of his eyes or anything. "That Maz sounds like a nice lady."

Boba shifted in his seat, his body starting to relax a little. You liked him like this, not tense or mysterious or angry. Even with the helmet still on, it helped him look like a real person. "I'll smooth things over with Maz, I'm not worried about that. But I'll still be banned from Takodana for life. If anyone sees me or my ship there, no one will take her rule seriously again. I can't do that to her reputation."

You smiled lightly at the sentiment, which did nothing to calm your flushed cheeks.

"But, at least Crimson Dawn's banned, too," he pointed out, and you noted the smugness of his tone.

"Who is that? Or... what, I guess."

"A crime syndicate. Ruthless lot. There's rumors they work for..."

Boba jerked his head toward you and then back, as if catching himself.

"What?"

He huffed "Never mind. Just rumors. Either way, it's not good they're interested in capturing you, too."

Your brow furrowed, wondering if his choice of words implied he still considered you his prisoner. But you didn't argue, knowing that somehow, despite the unpleasantness of your experience aboard the Slave I, you would have a much worse time with anyone else as your captors... whether it was Crimson Dawn, the Empire, or even another bounty hunter. Something told you Boba Fett was different. Sure, he'd had you chained up until just recently, but the fact you'd been able to convince him to treat you as more of an equal in this endeavor to find your mysterious buyer said enough of his character.

"So where are going now?" you asked quietly.

Boba looked over at you, and it was strange, but for some reason you could just tell he was smirking beneath that green helmet of his.

"You'll see soon enough."


	8. You'll See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't intend to let so much time pass between chapters like this. Apologies for the delay, and thanks for your patience and encouraging comments!

You'd thought by Boba's tone the planet he was taking you to would be a lot more... well, just more than _this_. If anything, it was more dirty and more barren and more boring than any you'd seen so far, and that included the several other desert planets now on your have-seen list.

"Where are we?" you called back up the ramp to where Boba was making final preparations before disembarking.

"Jakku."

He walked up alongside you, pausing with a hand hovering over the opposite wrist, where he usually shot out a fiber-cord to tie you up.

"I'm not going anywhere," you assured him with a smirk. "Promise."

He still seemed hesitant, but you started walking anyway. You weren't sure where to go, or why you were even on this planet, but you needed to stretch your legs and do something. You felt restless. There were so many questions without answers and potentially a whole galaxy to go through to find them. You wanted to get started right away. You wanted to come across _something_ to help start making sense of things.

Boba fell into step beside you. There looked to be an outpost just ahead, though it wasn't the bustling station common in other places. Scraggly looking humans and other creatures that seemed rough-around-the-edges milled about here and there. They all eyed you and your companion as you made your way through them. Eventually Boba took the lead and guided you around a watering hole and back into an expanse of rolling dunes and sand.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"Well what are we even doing here?"

"You'll see."

You huffed in frustration but continued to follow the helmeted man before you. You were finding it annoying how he flip-flopped between being silent and chatty. It was almost like he just remembered he was supposed to be an intimidating bounty hunter and decided to ignore the fact he could be relaxed and friendly with you.

If traipsing through the forest terrain of Takodana had been miserable, the sand dunes you now found yourself navigating was surely hell. Once the piddly outpost had disappeared in the distance behind you, and you realized it would probably be awhile before you reached whatever destination ahead, your focus became surviving the unpredictable nature of the dunes. Stray breezes would come at random, disturbing the sand around you, causing your eyes to water and your throat to feel a perpetual tickle.

At one point you ended up tumbling down a hill and got stuck, much to your embarrassment. Boba had to slide down and help you up with a shake of his helmeted head. Sand grated uncomfortably in your clothes for the rest of the journey.

Eventually, and thankfully, said journey ended. The dunes leveled out into more of a dirt plateau, with a little tent rising up in the middle of it. Boba led you straight for it, and the man that was standing watch just outside it.

The man's skin reminded you of a mummy, shriveled and wrinkled but with a hardened look about it. He wore goggles over his eyes and protective armor on his shoulders. His fingers were decorated with various gold rings. He was stoic as the two of you approached.

"I figured you'd be the one to come for me," he said.

Boba stopped just before him, hands on his hips. You lingered behind, unsure what to make of this meeting yet.

"I don't know what you mean," Boba replied. "I'm here to see an old friend."

There was a moment of silence and then the other man burst out laughing. He clapped a hand on Boba's shoulder and pulled him in for a hug.

"Oh Fett, you haven't changed a bit!" he cackled. "Trying to pull one over on me. I'll be damned."

Boba awkwardly wiggled out of the embrace, as stiff as you'd ever seen him. You imagined he didn't experience a lot of friendly physical contact in his line of work.

"Come, come, inside before the winds pick up."

The man motioned for both of you to follow him into the tent. It really, truly was little. Once the three of you were inside, there wasn't room for much else. A cot lay rolled out in one corner, a small fire pit lay dormant in another, and the rest of the available space was littered with tarnished cups, jewels, and other items that seemed like they had once been valuable but were now just junk. You stepped among them gingerly, not sure where to position yourself in the cramped chaos.

"Do you live here?" you found yourself compelled to ask.

"Don't mind her," Boba commented as he took a seat on the cot. "She's a bit high maintenance."

Your eyebrows shot up, incredulous. What had you done that was considered "high maintenance?" You were about to ask when the other man scolded him for you.

"No, no. She is a woman of good taste."

You nodded. "Yes, thank you."

He smiled at you and extended a hand. "Hondo Ohnaka. And don't worry, my dear, this is only a temporary arrangement."

You took his offered hand and introduced yourself in return. He gave you a knowing look once he heard your name.

"So the rumors of the Empire's bounty are true." He turned to face Boba. "I would've thought if you were the one to find her, you'd have no need to come after an old pirate like me."

"As I said, I'm only here to see a friend."

Hondo seemed to be considering something, though you weren't sure what. All you knew was that a guy like Boba Fett didn't have friends, not in the true sense of the word, so whatever connection he had with this man was complicated.

"What do you mean by pirate?" you asked, hoping to gain some insight into who this man was and why you were visiting him.

"I used to lead many smugglers and thieves around the galaxy, back before the war," he explained with a wistful look in his eyes. "I'm all that's left now. I do what I can to keep the old ways alive. But it's never really the same."

His voice held a certain kind of sadness you'd heard before, by your grandparents and other elderly folk, people who'd come to realize the best part of their lives was already behind them. It broke your heart to hear such loss of hope.

"The past has a way of coming back around," Boba spoke up. "A man of your experience and expertise will always be in demand. I could use some of that myself."

Hondo stroked his chin again in contemplation. He then turned back around to face you.

"Well for starters, you can treat your bounty here with a little more respect. Poor girl doesn't even have a scarf to protect her pretty face on this mess of a planet."

He started rummaging around his piles of junk, eventually pulling up a helmet that looked a lot like the ones the Imperial soldiers had been wearing.

"For you, my dear. Go on and try it outside, make sure all the filters still work properly."

You weren't sure you knew how to do such a check, but you got the feeling Hondo was subtly asking you to give him and Boba some privacy. So you took the helmet and made your way back outside the tent, but not before stopping just outside the door to catch some of their conversation.

_She's certainly the prettiest bounty you've collected, if not the most valuable. I hope you've at least acknowledged that._

_ What difference does that make?_

_ What's wrong with appreciating beauty when you find it? Makes the job easier, no? Unless you find it distracting?_

_ What's distracting is you talking about anything other than what I'm here for._

_ All I'm saying is you can't be all-business all the time. A bounty hunter like you, you've got to take what little joy you can get._

_ Which is what I'm here for. The joy of finishing a job and getting my reward._

You forced yourself to turn away. This man would certainly have information for Boba about your situation. And if he'd come up with an excuse to get you to leave for the moment, he must be shy about sharing it with anyone other than his purported friend. So you respected their privacy and settled your focus on the stormtrooper helmet now in your possession.

You played around with it for a while, first enjoying the basic safety from the elements it provided simply by putting it on, and then exploring the more specialized features. You were able to change the filtration power of the air supply, pull up environmental readings and terrain maps in your eyesight, and tap into nearby comms frequencies. You would've been content with continuing your experiments for a while longer, if it weren't for the sudden sound of a blaster firing from within Hondo's tent.

You sprinted the short distance over and threw the door open. For a split second, right before you registered what had happened inside, you considered the fact it probably wasn't a good idea to rush into a potentially dangerous situation with no weapon like this. But it was your fear that something had happened to Boba, the one somewhat-trustworthy person you could more-or-less rely on, that spurned you forward without thinking.

But you should've known it would never be Boba who would end up stunned and unconscious on the ground.


	9. A Scuffle on Jakku

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for the encouraging comments! I'm glad others are having as much fun with this story as I am.

"What the hell?"

You'd shouted the question but it still fell on deaf ears. Boba was busy securing the unconscious body of Hondo onto the cot in the corner of the tent. There weren't any signs of a scuffle that you could tell, but then again, most of the little hovel was in disarray as it was. You'd overheard the start of their conversation, which was mainly Hondo complimenting your supposed prettiness and Boba trying to change the subject. How had it gone from something so seemingly innocent to... _this_?

You stood with an expectant look even as he shouldered his way past you, dragging the cot with his "friend" out into the dirt.

"Hey!" You followed him outside, upset and determined. You were tired of not knowing anything. "What is this? I thought we were here to find who's hunting me."

Boba didn't even look your way as he responded in a clipped voice, "Not everything is about you. There are other bounties in the galaxy."

You stepped on the cot, causing Boba to lose his grip on it as its journey through the sand halted. He spun around but you were already hurling your anger-laced words at him.

"Then what's the point in me being here? You're clearly not in a hurry to figure this out. So why stick around and just be another one of your pathetic prisoners?"

"And what's my incentive?" he shot back. "What do you plan to do once this is all figured out? You going to willingly be handed over? You going to let me get my reward? No, you'll get your answers and then you'll run, and I'll only have protected you that whole time for nothing."

"I'm not--" you automatically started to rebut but he cut you off.

"Don't even try to pretend you have a plan. I know you don't. I saw you come through that portal. You've only been improvising this whole time."

You blinked as it dawned on you what he meant, that the three days you'd spent thinking you were successfully evading capture had actually been followed by this man. Why had he waited to take you?

Boba didn't seem to realize he'd given you that information as he immediately picked up the cot again in your silence. He'd only gone a few steps more with it before a strange whirring sound reached the two of you.

You both turned in the same direction, discovering a row of speeder bikes were making their way over from the horizon. Boba cursed and let the cot fall back down.

"Get down!" he barked as he ran up ahead. He aimed his wrist rocket and fired.

You instinctively put on the stormtrooper helmet just in time. Dirt flew up from the explosive, but it only deterred a few of the bikes. The rest were fast approaching, peppering the ground around you with shots from their onboard guns. You tried crouching by the tent, but the tarp was quickly torn up from the blasts.

Boba had used his jetpack to hover above their aim. As they neared, they ceased firing and began circling around the encampment. Boba fired his blaster at whatever he could, but when he was only able to take out a couple of others he returned to the ground. He crouched next to you, an arm around your back, covering your body as best he could.

"Crimson Dawn," you could barely hear him say over the din of the speeders. Indeed, you could recognize two of these thugs as the mercenaries from Takodana. The others wore similar black garb, trimmed in gold and with varying styles of helmets and cloaks.

Boba twisted around just as one of the speeders circled in closer. The rider held out a gun but Boba was able to fire first, sending him flying off the back. He then quickly shot out his fiber cable and reigned in the careening bike.

Your body moved of its own accord. Hondo still lay motionless on the cot just a few feet away. You crawled over and made quick work of the ties that held him down. You could hear the other riders resume their gunfire; you could feel their shots striking the ground. But none came close to you. In the back of your mind, you knew it meant they wanted you alive.

Once you'd freed Hondo, you mustered all your strength to lift him up. Boba was immediately at your side, spreading cover fire as you hefted the pirate's body over the seat of the speeder.

"Hold on," Boba said as he mounted the bike just behind the body. It was an unnecessary instruction as you were already straddling from behind. His jetpack made it difficult for you to get comfortable in the limited space, so you gripped his waist and said a prayer as he took off.

You were thankful to be able to move back over the sandy dunes at a much quicker pace than when you'd first trudged through them. But the firing from the pursuing speeders complicated things. Boba expertly zig-zagged to throw off their aim, but a few blasts still came too close for comfort. Your only hope was that they wouldn't try too hard gun your speeder down in case it accidentally killed you.

Boba called over his shoulder at you. "Do you know how to shoot?"

You answered that you did not, but he was already passing his blaster back to you.

"Try anyway."

You twisted around as best you could, holding the gun against your shoulder for stability, and started firing. You didn't expect to hit anything so you weren't disappointed when the pursuing speeders didn't fall behind. But you were causing them to jerk back and forth as well to avoid your shots, which seemed to help minimize the amount of shooting they were doing in return.

Your back was aching from the awkward angle so you moved to twist around the other way. As you turned, you noticed the outpost had come into view up ahead, and just beside it you could make out the silhouette of the Slave I.

Boba was calling back to you again. "When we get close to the ship, I need you to jump and get onboard. I'll do what I can to hold them off."

"What about Hondo?"

"Don't worry about him. You're the one they're after."

You held onto the gun, having nowhere to stow it away. Closer and closer the ship yard neared and you made ready to jump. But just when the opportunity came, a blast from behind hit the back end of your speeder and sent the three of you flying.

You hit the dirt face first and you couldn't have been more grateful to have a helmet protecting your fall. You rolled a few times, coming to rest on your back just beside the ramp of the Slave I. Your body screamed to be left alone, to just lay there for a while until everything disappeared. But you forced yourself to move through the pain.

As you pushed yourself up, you noticed Hondo's body had rolled close by as well. Boba's gun was just beside him. You crawled over to it and looked around for its owner. The bounty hunter was off in another direction, tangled up with the shattered bike. You hesitated until you saw him moving, sending a wave of fire at the approaching enemy from another one of the weapons on his wrists.

One of the thugs had dismounted from its bike just in front of you and was fast approaching. You could tell it was a woman by her figure and pace, though her face was obscured by a helmet of her own. She raised a gun at you but you had yours ready first. You sent a round of blasts her way. None of them hit your intended target. You cursed and rolled out the way just in time as she fired in return.

It wasn't a normal blaster shot, but almost like a circle of blue light. You weren't sure what that was about and didn't have time to consider it. The thug was on you. She was stronger than her small frame suggested, pinning you to the ground and attempting to keep your arms from flailing at her while she tried to aim the gun back at you.

But your strong-willed desperation was even stronger. You kicked at her from below, throwing her off balance just enough for you to roll over so that you were the one on top. You slid a hand just under her helmet and grasped at her neck. She dropped the gun to claw at your grip. You grabbed at it with your free hand and fired it at her without hesitation.


	10. Dehelmetization

It turned out the blue circles emitting from the gun indicated it was set to stun. You were thankful, having realized only after the danger was over that you really hadn't wanted to kill anyone. You'd just wanted to stop fighting.

Boba was still engaged with the two remaining thugs, using the various weapons strapped all over his body in absence of his gun. You could tell he was gaining the advantage, though, as he was able to move closer to the ship. You decided to start making your way onboard with the other bounty.

Determined as you were, you struggled to pull Hondo's body after you up the ramp. The sand that had accumulated in your clothes was the least of your concerns now. You knew exactly where there'd be bruises in the coming days, and you were pretty sure the scrapes along your arms were starting to bleed. Not to mention how generally out-of-shape you were and all the sore muscles that would linger as a result.

You continued dragging the pirate deeper into the Slave I, toward your old cell. You could see down the hall that Boba had finally made his way onto the ramp, and soon he was closing the hatch and making his way up to the cockpit. In no time, the ship was off the ground and bolting out into space.

You deposited Hondo in the cell and finally let yourself catch your breath. Your head buzzed as it came down from the adrenaline high that had spurred you through that frightening scene. You wiggled out of the helmet and let it fall unceremoniously onto the ground.

Boba reappeared shortly, moving very awkwardly and grunting in pain. It wasn't until he started throwing his shoulder against the wall that you realized it was dislocated.

"Stop, don't, you're going to make it worse!"

You rushed over and took hold of his arm to stop him from moving.

"I can fix it. Just twist your elbow in like this." You firmly grasped the shoulder and readied your stance. "When I count to three I'm going to pull, okay? One--"

You pulled without counting off the other numbers. The joint relocated with a satisfying pop. Boba initially yelped out, probably more in surprise than pain, and then heaved a sigh before settling down on a nearby crate.

"There. Now don't move it. No pushing or pulling or lifting. Just... let it rest."

The man was clearly exhausted. You shuffled back, feeling like you should give him some space but not knowing where else to go or what else to do. As you turned, finally deciding to just sit inside the cell with your blanket, he said your name.

"Wait," he murmured. "Can you help me get this off."

You inched your way back. "Get what off?"

He sighed again. "All of it. Please."

You forced yourself to consider this a normal request. Anyone who'd been through all that would want some reprieve from their armor. It didn't matter that you had yet to see him in anything other than this. Right?

But as you started by helping him remove the helmet, and you were finally face-to-face with the bounty hunter you'd already spent so much time with, you were struck with how he looked so... normal.

You didn't know what you had expected. Some kind of extreme, apparently. Either devastatingly handsome or butt-ass ugly. But he was on neither end of the spectrum. He had an average human face, slightly square jawline, angled eyebrows. His complexion was tanned with a thick line of stubble. His hair was black and a bit longer and curlier than you would've imagined. Overall, he had a fairly unremarkable appearance.

He was normal.

There was no real explanation why that thought gave you so much comfort. But you couldn't dwell anyway. You gently set down his helmet and continued helping him remove his armor, piece by piece. First were the weapons and straps. Then off came the jetpack and cape. When it came to his shoulder and chest plates, he grew a little impatient and tried wriggling them off himself. You hastily stopped him before he could aggravate his shoulder any more.

"Stop, I've got this. I know how to undress someone."

You went to set down the armor but caught yourself and turned back with flushed cheeks. "I took care of my sick grandmother once... is all I meant... by that."

Boba only looked at you with a quirked eyebrow, seeming unfazed by your accidental innuendo. But it unnerved you all the same. You were now able to see his facial expressions and it made you feel like you were intruding on his private thoughts somehow. You weren't sure you liked being this close to him after all.

It took a few more minutes to get the rest of the armor off, so that Boba was left in only his flight suit and shoes. A part of you was about to wonder how much else he wanted you to remove when he sat back down on the crate as a sign that this was relief enough.

"Thank you," he mumbled. He leaned out and rested his forearms on his legs, though he didn't put as much weight on his left side. You watched as he collected himself, noting the subtleties of the wrinkles on his face, the blinking of his eyes, the almost perpetual frown he wore along his mouth. All the little things you'd never seen but had always been there, hiding behind the helmet.

"You okay?" he asked, glancing over.

You only nodded.

He turned his gaze over to the lifeless form you'd dragged into the cell. The poor guy would surely be as sore and confused as you were when, or if, he ever woke up.

"The Rang Clan has a bounty on him," Boba explained in a subdued voice. "They have a long standing feud with Crimson Dawn so I thought... Well, I thought if I brought him in, they'd be willing to keep you hidden while I locate the buyer."

You opened your mouth, getting out one syllable of your disapproval before he said your name, cutting off the thoughts he knew you'd have.

"Look, if today was any indication, it's going to be difficult for me to keep protecting you. The instructions were clear that I had to deliver you alive and well. I won't get my money and you won't get your answers with the syndicate looking for us. We need help."

As you nodded and accepted his rationale, you found your shoulders were unwinding from a tension you'd forgotten about. Even though you'd said you were okay, you really weren't. The excitement was wearing off and your body was feeling heavy.

Boba was right, you couldn't endure this lifestyle for long. And if you were the one being hunted, you'd stand a better chance of finding answers if you let him search on his own.

"Besides," Boba added as he stood up again and stretched his back. "I need the money, too. I used the last of the fuel to jump us out of there."

"Jump?" you asked.

He looked at you and you were glad to see the corner of his mouth turn up slightly.

"Into hyper-speed? So we can't be followed?" When you shook your head, he sighed. "You really don't get out much, do you."

You gave him a sheepish smile. "I guess not."

"Come here."

He led you up to the cockpit, both of you moving slowly and protecting the parts of your bodies that stiffened in protest. When you finally caught sight of the windows, your breath hitched, surprised. Stars were streaking past at such incredible speeds that they blended together into lines of white and silver and sometimes blue. It was like you were looking into a prism or some kind of optical illusion. There was no way you should ever be traveling this fast, no way you should be seeing the stars like this, and yet, you were.

You wondered if there was anything left in the galaxy to amaze you.


	11. Dealings with a Pirate

The Slave I continued on through the galaxy at hyper-speed for a long while; so long, you began to wonder just how hyper a speed it really was. Where could you possibly be headed?

You eventually grew bored and made your way to the lavatory to pass time. You returned to find Boba had moved the few belongings you'd accumulated from the cell to a narrow bunk in the wall of the cargo hold you'd previously believed to be an unused shelf. More surprising, however, was a new item added to your measly possessions: a chart with a translation of the alphabet you'd seen around. Boba must have noticed your attempts to decipher the characters on your own.

"Don't let his small acts of kindness fool you."

The new prisoner, Hondo, was sitting back against the wall, his beady eyes watching you intently. You hadn't noticed he had woken from his unconscious stupor. Your gaze went back and forth between him and the chart you held in your hands.

"It's the big acts that truly matter, and that's where young Fett falls short, I'm afraid."

You furrowed your brow at Hondo's words.

"_Young_ Fett?"

Hondo nodded slowly, sadly almost. "His father was a noble man. He worked in the same line of business but he did it with honor."

You set the chart in your bunk and made your way to stand closer to Hondo's cage.

"Is there such a thing as an honorable bounty hunter?" you questioned.

Hondo nodded again. "Oh yes. A man who lives by a code and sticks to his word is always to be respected, regardless of his profession."

"Says the pirate," came Boba's voice from behind you.

You turned and startled yourself, having almost forgotten that he had removed his helmet. You quickly tried to take back in his features again as he moved past to fiddle with boxes in the cargo hold.

"I'm curious, Fett, how you're able to travel through hyperspace right now. There aren't any official routes out here." Hondo rose and curled his wrinkly fingers around the bars. "Unless, of course, you've been dealing on the black market, again."

"Where else would I deal?" Boba didn't even turn around from his project to respond. "The only other markets are owned by the Empire."

Hondo only chuckled while shaking his head. "And yet you've picked up one of their bounties. You see, child? No honor."

He was addressing you now and you were slightly miffed at being called a child.

"I'm not collecting for them; there's another buyer." Boba sounded exasperated at having to explain, setting down a box a little more forcefully than he probably wanted. He huffed and tried to collect himself. "We just... need to find them...."

Hondo cocked his head and considered this. "I could help."

Boba rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't."

"Of course I would. I'm an honorable man." It was almost like a challenge and you could feel the passive aggressive tension between the two men as they eyed each other down. Eventually Hondo spoke up again.

"I'll help you more than the Rangs will. You thought I was out, but I heard every word of your ridiculous plan to have them protect the girl. They'll only turn her over to the Empire as soon as you give them the chance. They have no loyalty to you."

"They will if I bring you in."

"No, their fear of the Empire outweighs all. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone willing to help you with the Empire on your tail." Hondo paused to smirk. "Except maybe the Hutts."

You hadn't heard of that group, but apparently Boba found the idea of allying with them repulsive. He made an almost growling sound as he turned away, pretending to fiddle with something else. But you could see the tension in his posture and knew he was too upset to do any real work. You coughed, hoping to get the conversation changed to something more productive.

"So... if you were to help, what would that look like?"

Hondo, at least, seemed relieved that someone was willing to consider his offer. He removed his grip from the bars and gave you a wily smile.

"Well first of all, you need more fuel before you're corned again. Which means you need money. I happened to have a job lined up with an old friend on Jedha, before I was rudely whisked away. It will easily result in ten times the bounty on my head."

"It won't be easier than me simply turning you in," Boba grumbled just loud enough to be heard.

"All you have to do is let me out so I can do the job, and I'll give you 15% of the cut. Help me get to another shit-hole planet to hide on afterward and I'll throw in another 5."

Boba grunted in response. "That truly is the worst deal I've ever heard."

"But you're an honorable man, right?" you interjected, still trying to seem reasonable. "So you wouldn't go back on your word and disappear before giving us the money."

Hondo's smile widened more. "That's exactly right. I gain nothing by betraying both the galaxy's best bounty hunter and its most valuable bounty."

"And this _old friend... _is it the same as you calling Boba an old friend?"

Hondo actually laughed out loud. "You're a sharp one. I like you."

"Answer the question." Boba moved to stand closer to you, crossing his arms defensively. It wasn't quite the vibe you'd wanted but at least you didn't feel caught in the middle anymore.

Hondo's laughter petered out as he grew serious again. "There was a time I called you friend. Long, long ago. Therefore, you are an old friend. Quadoro, on the other hand, has been and always will remain a friend. Thus, an old friend."

You weren't sure you quite followed the pirate's rationale, but it didn't matter. Boba was pressing on with more questions.

"And who is the job for?"

"You remember Dok-Ondar," Hondo said with a wry and knowing smile.

"He worked with Crimson Dawn, last I heard," Boba replied in a low voice.

Hondo shrugged. "He's worked with everyone."

Boba considered this in silence for a bit. You wanted to know more about this Dok-Ondar guy and how Boba knew him, but it didn't seem a good time to ask. The bounty hunter seemed to coming around on the idea of letting Hondo go on this mission for some reason, and you were not about to stop that from happening.

"How long do you need?"

Hondo made a show of pretending to count. "No more than three days."

Boba ended up turning to you, startling you yet again as you got another full look at his bare face.

"Well?"

He was asking for your opinion. He was inviting you to help make the decision with him. A part of you wondered what that meant in regards to the spat the two of you had had back on Jakku, the one that still didn't feel resolved. But another, larger part of you did not want yet another group chasing you around. With this plan, you could avoid the Rang Clan altogether and continue to help track down your buyer.

You nodded your head at Boba and then at Hondo. "Deal."


	12. No Other Choice

You hadn't slept since before the scuffle on Jakku, and your body was for sure feeling it. Unfortunately, as soon as the Slave I came out of hyper-speed, the planet called Jedha was looming directly ahead. And it wasn't long before the ship had descended into its atmosphere and touched down onto its terrain. Sleep would have to wait.

Boba provided large cloaks for the three of you to wear before disembarking. You were surprised to see he was not suiting back up in his armor and helmet for this mission.

"No helmet?" you asked.

He gave you a sort of half-smirk, half-grimace in response, but otherwise remained silent. Hondo ended up supplying a more verbal reply.

"You could count on one hand the number of people in the galaxy who know Boba without his Mandalorian armor." The pirate threw his own cloak on and chuckled. "It'll be easier this way to lay low for the next few days."

You could feel your cheeks grow warm as you considered the fact you were one of those few people who knew what Boba looked like without... what was it called? Mandalorian armor? You weren't sure what that was; a brand, a culture, an element? Somehow this man seemed to be more of an enigma the more you learned about him.

"It won't be easy for her," Boba commented as he strapped various weapons beneath his cloak. "You could count on one hand how many people _don't_ know what she looks like."

"True," Hondo admitted. He tried to grab some of the weapons for himself but Boba swatted at him. Hondo carried on as if nothing happened. "The closer you get to Jedha City, the more stormtroopers you'll come across. I recommend staying in one of the outskirt towns and letting me travel on. She should be safer that way."

You weren't sure if you felt incredibly comforted by that plan or not. Three days seemed like an awfully long time to stay hidden in an Imperial-run planet, especially considering how frequently you'd almost been captured in the last few weeks alone.

Boba finished packing and was now shutting down power in the ship. You wandered outside to wait, Hondo following shortly after. You were disappointed to find that you were once again on a planet full of dirt. There were more crags and cliffs than the sandy dunes of Jakku, but the scene still felt the same. Dirty. Boring. Lifeless. It made you miss Maz's planet that much more.

"When can we go to a beach or a tropical island paradise?" you pretended to whine as Boba closed up the ramp and began leading your little party across the dirt. He had landed the ship behind a craggy outcropping far from the nearest outpost, hoping it'd remain hidden and not suggest that Boba Fett and his coveted bounty could be somewhere on the planet.

Your small attempt at humor wasn't directly acknowledged, but Hondo, ever the conversationalist, did supply a response.

"This place has a very old, very deep spiritual history. Many a weary soul has made the pilgrimage here to seek out wisdom and peace. Even the Jedi have found this hallowed ground enriching...."

It didn't go unnoticed to you how tense Boba became at the word _Jedi_. It was another term you hadn't heard before, and you were about to ask when the bounty hunter grunted his annoyance at Hondo.

"We have a long way to walk and I do hope I don't have to hear your voice the entire way, Hondo."

The pirate didn't seem phased by the insult. He held a wistful look as he took in his surroundings, as if he was seeing something in the uninspired landscape that you weren't. "Just as you should appreciate the beauty in your companion, so should you value the sacred nature of this planet."

Your cheeks were warm again and you couldn't help but immediately look to Boba to see how he would respond. You had gone from being pretty to having beauty, apparently, and despite not believing such a compliment, a small part of you wondered if he agreed.

But if Boba did have an opinion, he hid it well. His expression remained as annoyed as it had been before Hondo offered the idea.

"Is that why you've come to raid it then?"

"I'm not _raiding_ anything," Hondo said, offended. "I've never _raided _anything in my life."

"Let me guess, you prefer to call it something else?"

"Dok-Ondar is a collector, you know that. He's helped save many a precious artifact from careless destruction, and this job I'm assisting him with is no different. I'm not calling it anything other than what it is."

Boba snorted but fell back into silence, and Hondo seemed upset enough now to do the same. You trudged alongside them, still wondering whether Boba found you good looking or not. Surely his lack of reaction, even a physical one such as blushing or stuttering, meant he did not? Or perhaps his quick response was too quick and he was trying to distract from the fact that he did? Why did it even matter to you so much?

It was, in fact, a very long walk to get to the nearest outpost. From there, it was a short ride in a land speeder to an actual town, and then another fair amount of walking to move on to a slightly bigger town that was somehow more suitable. You hadn't started the journey with an abundance of energy or good health, so it was safe to say you were very much looking forward to the part of the mission where you could "lay low."

But you hadn't reached that part quite yet. Instead, the three of you waited at a train station, where Hondo would soon take his leave for the Holy City on his own. The sun had long disappeared, and an uncomfortable cold was settling into your bones now that you were more stationary. You ended up pacing the small platform, both for warmth and something to do. Boba and Hondo, meanwhile, tried nailing down details for the rest of the plan.

"I don't want to be associated with this heist you're doing," Boba was saying, his eyes scowling up at a sign with various train departure times.

"It's not a _heist_," Hondo bristled again. It'd taken him a while to let go of the raiding comment; this would surely set him off again.

"Whatever. I'm not leaving with you on my ship. I can commandeer one from this shipyard here, instead, and come back for the Slave I when it's safer." He pointed at a word on the timetable, one that you could now kind-of read. You'd brought along the alphabet chart Boba had given you but didn't feel like pulling it out and risk getting your hands cold.

Hondo scoffed. "Commandeer, or steal? Let's discuss word choice, shall we?"

Yes, he was definitely getting upset again. Thankfully his train just rounded the bend up ahead, pressing the need to finish with the plan over engaging in petty squabbling.

"Fine. I'll meet you in the shipyard in three days."

"With the money," Boba said pointedly.

"Yes, yes, of course." Hondo waved him off and approached the train as it docked. He looked back with a taunting smile. "Worried, Fett?"

Boba only looked away. You stopped your pacing beside the bounty hunter, feeling a bit nervous yourself, but deciding to remind the pirate why you were trusting him to begin with.

"There's no need to be worried," you stated as confidently as you could. "You're an honorable man, right?"

Hondo only chuckled as he disappeared aboard the train.

"He's just trying to mess with us," Boba muttered.

You weren't sure if he was trying to reassure you, or himself. You involuntarily shivered, both from the cold and the nerves you now had. "And what if he doesn't come back?"

Boba turned toward you. His face was mostly obscured by the cloak, just as was yours, but you could make out some pink on his nose and cheeks where the cold was nipping him, too, and his face was contorted as if in pain by it. It was evident he wasn't used to being so exposed.

Boba shifted and removed something from the utility belt he wore under the cloak. It was a small round device you instantly recognized. The last you'd seen it was the day you'd been shocked into unconsciousness for running too far away.

"He'll come back," Boba said with a small smile. "He has no other choice."


	13. Laying Low

Finagling last-minute accommodations for the night proved more difficult than you'd expected. Apparently there was some kind of parade or festival happening that week, bringing in plenty of other travelers to the otherwise desolate city. That, and the fact Boba was short on funds meant there weren't many options - at least no pleasant ones. But the night was already dragging on longer than you wanted, so by the time you did find yourself in a crummy hotel room, you were more relieved than disgusted.

"It may not be up to your standards, but it could certainly be worse," Boba was saying as he inspected the room, though for what, you did not know.

"I don't know where you got this impression I'm high maintenance, but it's seriously misguided," you said through a yawn.

Boba turned from peering through the curtains of the small window across the room and blinked at you. He couldn't seem to offer up a reason.

"Honestly. I'm just glad to finally sleep in a bed. And take a shower."

You'd cracked open a door on your left and discovered the little bathroom with a shower that didn't look as gross as it could have been... Exhaustion now forgotten, you itched at the prospect of finally, _finally_, being able to wash away the grime and stink of months worth of space travel.

"Well, we're going to need supplies," Boba said, drawing you out of your revere. "It's best if we get them now while it's still dark. Train leaves at ten tomorrow."

"I'll be fine here," you stated. Boba seemed hesitant, so you added, "I told you I'm not trying to run away anymore."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he muttered. Maybe you were just tired and imagining things, but he almost sounded embarrassed. He moved past you and jiggled with the lock on the door handle. "You keep this locked and let in no one. I have the key and should be back within the half hour."

You realized his concern wasn't you leaving, but someone else coming in. You nodded at his instructions, not keen on the idea of being captured yourself. You were only just enjoying freedom again.

"What if someone does come? How do I contact you?"

Boba looked at you with a frown. "You don't. Any comms frequencies could be tapped into."

"Then how..."

"I'll find you. But if you can, try not to let it get to that point."

He moved his cloak to the side, showcasing the various weapons and pouches he had strapped to his belt. He plucked off one of the smaller guns and handed it over to you with a smirk.

"Thanks," you said hesitantly, taking the gun from him and immediately setting it on the table next to you.

He left the room and you could hear him turning the lock with his key on the other side. A few moments later, and the stillness around you began sinking in. You realized this was first time you'd been truly apart from the bounty hunter in a long while. Even the times he had left you on his ship while he went off on his missions, it had still been _his_ ship... there had been a sense of safety and control. Now you were all by yourself in a room that felt flimsy and hollow, on a strange planet where anything could happen. You weren't exactly scared, but you couldn't say you weren't just a little nervous.

You did not, however, let any of those little nerves get in the way of you enjoying a shower.

There'd been a time in your life, not too long ago, where you'd been particular about things like temperature and water pressure. But not now. Oh no. It felt glorious just as it was. You let the water run through your hair, wash over your skin, soak into your pores. Your body was still bruised and tired, but you felt more alive than you ever had before. You let yourself hum in contentment, a soft little tune you made up as you went, creating the melody to your own happiness.

A soft knock on the door outside brought you snapping back to reality. Your heart clenched in anticipation, but only for a moment, as a familiar voice called out to you.

"I'm just setting some clothes here for you," Boba said.

That was fast, you thought at first, before realizing you'd been in there for a lot longer than you'd planned.

There was a creak of the door, a quick burst of cold air as it flooded in from outside the now steamy bathroom, and then another creak as the door shut again. You quickly went to work scrubbing away at your skin with the little bar of soap provided, even lathering some up to use on your hair. It made the strands squeaky and dry, but at least you would no longer smell like the bottom of a sewer.

The clothes Boba had gotten for you were surprisingly thoughtful. There was a plain shirt but in the same color as the top you'd picked out for yourself in that crazy shop with the tampons. And there were two pant options, one soft and snuggly to wear to bed tonight, and the other a rougher, tougher material for when your travels resumed tomorrow.

Once you were clothed and had dried your hair as best you could, you finally came out of the bathroom. Boba was sitting on the edge of one of the twin beds, shoes off and one of his pant legs rolled up to his knee. He was applying some kind of salve to a cut on his shin. He looked up at you as you emerged, and again, you weren't sure if your tired mind was playing tricks on you, but you could've sworn he had a faint smile.

"Feel better?" he asked, sensing your renewed spirit.

You only nodded in response, fatigue finding its way back to you. Your eyes were starting to droop.

"I have food if you want it," he said, motioning to some cans that were stacked on the table next to various other supplies. "Otherwise, I suggest you get some rest. You need it."

"So do you," you said pointedly, suppressing a yawn so your point wouldn't be lost. "I don't think I've ever seen you sleep."

"That's because I usually have my helmet on. I've been asleep under there more often than you think... usually when you're blabbing on about something."

You raised your eyebrows. Was that a joke? Was he actually trying to be humorous for once? He'd turned his attention back to his leg, now wrapping a bandage around the wound, but his demeanor definitely seemed much less stiff than usual. Not that you were complaining, but it was curious.

"I don't... blabber..." you said under your breath. You went to the other bed and crawled under the sheets, focusing on how nice it was to finally lay on a mattress and ignoring any thoughts about it having been used by who-knew what kind of creatures.

It was almost too soft. You spent a good minute shifting positions, trying to find one that worked the best, before finally settling in. Your mind was ready for sleep, right on the edge of shutting out the waking world and drifting away into the land of dreams. But you could hear Boba rummaging through his pile of supplies, unloading and reloading his guns, anxiously peeking out the windows.... He was quiet enough you could've slept through it, but you held on to consciousness for a moment longer.

"Boba. Seriously."

He _tut_-ed at you. "I'm fine."

"No, you're tired. Just admit it and go to bed." You sounded like a parent scolding a child. But that tactic didn't seem to work as the stubborn man continued to fiddle away. So you sighed and purposefully removed the crankiness from your voice.

"How are you going to steal a ship tomorrow if you're tired? How are you going to protect me or help Hondo or find the buyer with the rest of your money?" you asked softly.

There was a moment of silence before the lights were finally clicked off, and the bed beside you rustled as Boba slid into it.

"Fine. Happy?"

Your gaze naturally drifted to the slivers of moonlight peeking into the room from around the window. Each blink grew slower and slower as you finally let yourself go.

"Yes, I am," you murmured.


	14. Uncanny Sentiments

You awoke expecting to be met with the bright, warm rays of the morning sun. Instead, you found only a subtle glow coming through the window curtains. Perhaps the days passed differently on this planet, but you could feel the heaviness of having too much sleep in your body to know you'd missed most of the day.

You lifted your head slightly to peer around the room, looking to see if Boba was sulking somewhere, cross with you for oversleeping. But to your surprise, you found him still lost in the throws of his own slumber in the bed next to yours. He was on his stomach, one arm hanging over the side. His face was turned toward you. For some reason, you couldn't pull yourself away from gazing at it. He looked so... peaceful.

The beds were very close together in the small hotel room, so close you could have reached out to touch him if you'd wanted. You felt your cheeks flush as you realized a part of you did want to. What were you thinking?

Flustered, you forced yourself to shift away, the sudden movement causing Boba to stir. He rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow, yawning and wiping his eyes. You watched him in silence, trying to convince yourself that his little sleepy movements were not cute in any way.

"Wait..." he said in a rough, groggy voice, now becoming aware of the odd lighting just as you had. He reached around to the small bedside table and lifted up one of his devices with the time. You could just make out over his shoulder that it was, in fact, very late in the day.

"_Shit_," he hissed in annoyance.

"Told you you were tired," you said with a faint laugh, trying to keep things lighthearted.

He didn't bother to look at you, only huffing and letting himself fall back onto his pillow. "We missed the train. We'll have to spend another night in this hell hole."

You pushed yourself to sit up, carefully stretching some of your limbs. They were sore and stiff and made you feel like an old lady. If only you'd exercised more back home....

"I thought this place was sacred?" you responded with a smirk. He still wasn't looking at you, choosing instead to scowl up at the ceiling. His face was definitely not peaceful-looking any more, and you wondered if you'd ever get the privilege to see it like that ever again.

"We could check out the festival, see what that's all about," you offered.

He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "And risk being recognized and attacked? No. That's why I wanted to leave today. Much easier to hide out in a shipyard than a city."

You pulled your knees up to your chest and rested your chin on top, sighing. You didn't like the idea of being kept inside this room for another night. It was almost like being locked up in a cage again.

"I suppose you could cover your face though," Boba eventually relented. You turned your head back to find he was now looking at you, his expression a little softer. You smiled at him in appreciation. His lips twitched, clearly trying to not smile back. You laughed at the effort and he rolled his eyes before climbing out of bed and getting ready for your evening excursion into the city.

* * *

Boba had tried to get you to wear a full-length veil. You wanted to be able to clearly see your surroundings. The compromise was a scarf wrapped around your head and the lower half of your face. It worked out pretty well.

The city itself was nothing spectacular, now that you could take in the details in the waning daylight. But the changes for the festival made the place feel much more lively than it probably did the rest of the year. There were quaint little booths lining almost every street with foreign vendors proudly displaying their wares. Strings of brightly colored flags zigged-zagged between buildings. Music played from somewhere.

You stopped to get a bite to eat, and the gangly creature serving you threw in some extra treats with a wink. Boba made you stand in a corner off the main thoroughfare so you could eat with the scarf off.

The two of you meandered along for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, silent but content. It felt good to stretch your legs and take it easy like this. It was even nicer to not feel like you were dripping with your own stench and filth. You actually felt like a person again.

Being surrounded by the bustling and the music and the laughter reminded you a bit of Maz's palace on Takodana. Creatures of all kinds speaking all sorts of languages, but all united in the common effort of just having a good time. It made it easy for you to let yourself forget about your troubles, if only for the time being.

Once the cold evening air started setting in, you were ready to make your way back to the hotel. But then you came across the source of the music: a group of ragtag musicians playing for a square full of dancing creatures. Boba scowled as you insisted on staying to watch the mesmerizing display of lively movement.

The melody eventually shifted to a slower, more gentle rhythm. You couldn't help but sway along with it, hiding a serene smile beneath your scarf.

Boba cleared his throat beside you. You looked over to find he had a hand held out, but his face otherwise wore his usual frown. You were learning by now that it was a neutral expression for him. So you took his hand, letting your eyes wrinkle so he knew you were smiling, and let him lead you into a dance.

With his hands resting lightly on your waist, and yours on his shoulders, the two of you rocked back and forth to the music. It felt strange to you, sharing a moment like this with a person like him. A bounty hunter, whose only concern was getting as much money out of you as possible.

You looked up at him and spoke for the first time in a while. "Can I ask you something? I mean... If I asked you a question, would you give me an honest answer?"

He had been looking around him, undoubtedly assessing the area for potential threats, and so was caught off guard by your question. His eyebrows quirked up.

"Depends on the question," he replied hesitantly. It was still weird to hear his voice so clear and unfiltered outside his helmet. It seemed easier now to understand him.

"Why did you wait?" you asked in a low voice, careful of any eavesdropping that could happen. "You said on Jakku that you saw me come through the portal. So why did you let me run around for three days before capturing me?"

Boba looked more surprised than you'd ever seen him before. He had clearly thought you'd ask something else, and truthfully, you had about seven other questions you could have gone with instead. But for some reason this one had been weighing on you the most. You just needed to know.

"I... wasn't expecting you," he said evenly enough, though his grip on your waist had tightened a little. "In this business, the higher the price, the more unpleasant the bounty. Sure, I was given your description. But seeing you was something else. You were just... normal."

You gulped. The first time he had seen you, and the first time you'd really seen him, you'd both come to the same sentiment. How uncanny.

"I wanted to watch you, just to be sure I wasn't missing something," he continued. "You weren't bad, fending for yourself like that. But I couldn't wait forever and it was clear you weren't special, so then I moved in."

He must have felt you tense as he immediately backpedaled.

"I meant... not that you aren't special... just, you know... not..."

"Unpleasant?" you smirked, though he couldn't see it. His cheeks were pink, but so was his nose, so you couldn't tell if it was from the cold or from embarrassment. That little spark of fascination you'd had that morning in gazing at him was starting to return.

_No_, you instructed yourself. _He is not cute... He is not handsome... He will sell you at the end of all this... He is not worth your affection..._.

"You have your moments," he said softly. "But generally, no, you're not unpleasant."

Somehow the gap between you had shortened, so if you wanted, you could curl your arms completely around his neck. You could smell him, too. It was mostly just the soap from the hotel, but there was a smaller, more unique scent mixed in there as well.

The lanterns hanging all around cast a warm glow on everything, including his not-handsome face. He still had frown lines. He still wasn't able to completely relax. But the way he looked at you as you continued to roll along with the music, with those sharp brown eyes. And the way he held you, like you mattered, like he wanted you beside him....

_No_, you told yourself again. _You're making things up. He doesn't like you. And you don't like him. You're just tired._

_ "_Are you okay?" his voice cut through your thoughts. You must have shown more of your inner conflict than you'd realized. You shook your head, more to dismiss his concerns than as an answer to his question.

"I'm just tired," you said and stopped shuffling your feet. He stood still, too, blinking a few times and remaining silent, waiting for you to make the next move. When he had stared at you like this before, with the helmet, you'd assumed it was because he was annoyed. But now the helmet was gone, and you couldn't see any annoyance or frustration. If anything, he seemed confused and timid.

You turned away, unable to look at him any longer. You were going to suggest walking back to the hotel now, but something had caught your eye off in the distance. A little creature, orange and with big eyes, beckoning toward you from behind a pillar.

You'd only seen her as a statue, had only heard about her from others, but you knew without a doubt it was her.

Maz.


	15. Meeting Maz

You turned to point the little orange woman out to Boba, but he was already shaking his head at you with pursed lips.

"Be subtle," he murmured almost imperceptibly above the music, which was now picking back up into a more energetic pace.

He placed a hand in the middle of your back and guided you through the dancers as they continued to twist and turn. When you emerged from the thick of them, Maz was nowhere to be seen, but Boba continued on. His hand fell and he moved in front of you, casually weaving between chairs and posts and trees... You followed him down the road, trusting he knew where to go, and trying to be casual about it yourself. But your mind couldn't help but wander through all the possible reasons Maz Kanata could be here.

About a minute later, Boba suddenly ducked into an alleyway. You skipped forward to keep up with him, just catching the tail end of his arm as he went through a curtained entrance.You pushed aside the fabric and found yourself in a small, dimly lit room, Maz standing on a table in the middle of it.

"Boba," she said, before promptly slapping him across the face.

The bounty hunter rubbed his jaw, more annoyed than in pain. "Maz," he grumbled, "good to see you too."

"I'm glad you finally took that silly helmet off," she said with a lighthearted tone that completely contradicted her rough actions. "Made it much more satisfying."

She turned toward you and jerked her thumb at Boba. "You should try it. Might not get another chance. And don't tell me you haven't wanted to. Everyone in the galaxy wants to hit Boba Fett."

To demonstrate, she slapped his other cheek, making him grunt in annoyance again. You weren't able to form a response, in awe of this woman. Her sass, her confidence... she was even cooler than you'd previously imagined.

And she was right, you had thought about slapping Boba before. Multiple times. As recently as five minutes ago, in fact.

"That's enough hitting for now," Boba said firmly, casting you a look that said _don't you dare_. That made you want to even more, especially considering he'd been almost gentle just a moment ago, making you flustered and confused.

But Maz had her own bone to pick with the bounty hunter. While he was busy glaring at you, she swung a fist at his shoulder, chewing him out before he had a chance to protest.

"That's enough, you say? Well here's what's not enough, young Fett. Your apology, which at this moment in time is non-existent. I went to great lengths to help you and in return you beat up my guests. Not to mention all the blaster holes you left in my walls. Do you know how much work that'll be to buff out?"

Boba had his arms crossed and was now standing just out of reach of any limbs Maz might try swinging at him again. When her rant seemed about done, he huffed in irritation. "You do realize that slimy old bastard Elon betrayed you."

"Yes and now he's hanging for it, but that doesn't excuse your choice to engage in a full-on brawl with my guests in the sanctity of my home."

"I wasn't the one who attacked first, Maz. Your _guests_ broke the rule."

"Well what did you expect?" Maz shot back. She didn't sound upset, exactly. It was more like she was a mother who'd caught her child sneaking out for the night. She was reprimanding him. "You bring the galaxy's most valuable bounty with you, rules or no rules, you'll have a fight on your hands. I'm surprised you've been able to keep her with you this long with that kind of carelessness."

Boba huffed again and turned away, gripping the back of a chair with his head hung low. Maz wasted no time dwelling on his silence, turning to speak to you instead.

"Come here, child," she said with an outstretched arm. You hesitantly walked forward and placed your hand in hers. It was small and cold, but she grasped firmly as a friend would.

"You are not what I expected," she said.

Your gulped as you remembered Boba sharing the same first impression. "Yeah, I've been getting that a lot," you said with a sheepish smile.

Maz let go of your hand and reached for the goggles she wore, pushing them up to rest on her cap. Her eyes were small, nestled in a sunken wring of orange wrinkles. They were kind, but seemed to be reaching past your outer appearance, seeing the parts of you you found difficult to share.

"You must be very special to the one who seeks you."

It was simple enough of a statement, but it pulled at you in a way that made you think you'd been looking at your situation in the wrong way. Before you could really explore that idea, though, Maz spoke again.

"I have a proposition." Her voice was no longer soft and insightful, but back to business. She moved her goggles back over her eyes as well. "I understand you will be collecting the bounty on that scoundrel Hondo Ohnaka?"

She was probably addressing Boba more than you, but you decided to respond anyway. "No, Hondo's helping us get the money a different way."

Maz gave Boba a knowing look. He stubbornly stayed facing the other way. "Curious, the way you treat her. Giving her freedom, dancing with her... but not telling her the truth."

You grew alarmed, looking between Maz and the backside of Boba. "What do you mean? What truth?"

"Boba never lets go of a bounty, my dear," she explained. "He'll let Ohnaka finish his little job, he'll collect the money the pirate promised him, and then he'll turn the poor man over to the Rang Clan and take their money, too."

"What? But... why?" You felt silly, like a little kid who had to have simple things explained to them. "The money from Hondo will be more than enough to refuel. Why waste time getting even more?"

But as you said the words, you knew what the answer would be. The realization hit you hard, leaving a bitter lump in the back of your throat. He was still planning to give you to the Rangs, too, and finish solving the mystery of your buyer on his own. And there was no need for him to rush for it; he had a million-credit advancement from your bounty already. The fuel thing had merely been a ploy to squeeze even more money out of the situation. He could keep chasing other bounties, manipulate other "old friends" with his circumstance, and eventually make his way to your buyer for a final haul.

Boba Fett only cared about money. He didn't, and would never, care about you.

"You said you had a proposition?" you asked Maz, your throat dry and coarse. She regarded you with a sympathetic look.

"I, too, need an alliance with the Rang Clan. Boba got a few slaps for his behavior in my palace, but Crimson Dawn needs a more severe punishment. If I help you bring him in, perhaps the Rangs will consider antagonizing their sworn enemy a little more on my behalf."

Boba finally let go of the chair and turned back to face her. You could tell he was careful not to make eye contact with you too, which brought forth your desire to hit him again. He had his mouth open to speak, but Maz cut him off.

"You want to know what's in it for you. Obviously it'll mostly be your way of apologizing and getting back on my good side. But... I can also help keep an eye on the girl for you. Make sure the Rangs don't get any ideas about selling her for themselves."

His eyes flicked to you, only briefly, as if he didn't mean to and caught himself. He scowled at the floor for a moment to cover, and then returned his gaze back to Maz with a defeated sigh.

"Fine. Meet us at the train station by ten. You can help us get another ship."

Another deal. This time, you couldn't help but wonder if Boba still had his own agenda hidden beneath the surface. It would be difficult to fully trust him again.

Maz chuckled, jumping off the table and heading toward the doorway. "I think I'll just watch. I've never been very good at stealing things."

She lifted the curtain to the side, beginning to step back out into the cold night.

"Maz," Boba said in a subdued voice. "I am sorry."

The little woman waved at him before disappearing. You could see his eyes had softened, just as they had been while looking at you on the dance floor. You wished he had his helmet on; it'd be a lot easier to stay mad at him that way.


	16. Conflict of Interest

"Dammit," you muttered to yourself.

You had a bare foot up on your seat in the land speeder. The train ride had taken a little over an hour and was uneventful until you'd gone to disembark, jumping from the high platform and getting sand in your shoes. Now you were spanning the last leg of your trip to the shipyard in a land speeder and using the time to clean up.

"What is it?" Maz asked beside you.

"My toe ring," you lamented, rubbing the spot it should have been. "It's gone. How does that even happen?"

"It's right there, missy."

You eagerly looked to where she was pointing in the floorboard, but then let your shoulders drop as you realized she was seeing the one on your other foot.

"No, I had two. One silver, one gold." You sighed, pulling your socks back on. Then you added, a little quieter. "They were all I had left of my old things."

Maz patted your leg in sympathy as you laced up your shoes.

"You have that... device..." Boba offered, sitting on the other side of Maz.

Your jaw clenched and you purposefully did not respond to his comment, taking your time rolling your pant legs back down as an excuse not to look his way either.

You and Boba hadn't spoken a word to each other all morning, and when Maz later joined you on the train, you both only offered short words of acknowledgement to her attempts at small talk. Eventually she caught on to the mood and took to gazing pleasantly out the train window. You weren't sure what had been so interesting out there; it seemed nothing more than a barren wasteland. You'd chosen to spend your time to memorize the remaining symbols of the new alphabet you were learning, Aurebesh, Maz had said it was called.

Boba, though you'd been ignoring him, had been too fidgety to completely escape your notice. Spinning around a small knife, stretching various limbs... He seemed to have relaxed a little in the speeder, enough to try talking to you again apparently, but was still drumming his fingers lightly along the edge of the door. Was he anxious? Or was it his usual urge to keep his hands busy?

"The one I found?" Maz filled in for your silence. "What was it? Does it mean something?"

You leaned back in your seat with another sigh. "It's just an old music player. It doesn't even work anymore."

Maz was regarding you with that same discerning look from the night before. You still had a scarf around most of your face, but you felt more exposed than ever whenever she looked at you.

"So what does it mean?"

You weren't sure how to reply to that, and the longer you sat without answering, the more the thought ate at you. Obviously it meant something. Everything meant _something, _you just couldn't fathom _what_.

Thankfully you were saved from having to try offering some kind of idea by the beeping of the droid driving the speeder. The craft had slowed down to go around an outcropping of a cliff, and the view you now had as it rounded the corner was surprisingly stunning.

There were massive space ships of all shapes and in various states of repair all around, cranes and rigs and scaffolding filling the gaps between them all. Sparks shot out like little firework shows. Sounds of clanging reverberated around. It was an intricate show of metal and electricity and grease and ringing.

The speeder dropped off at a small office jutting out of the cliffside. Maz went inside with a satchel of money from Boba, under the guise she was looking to rent a beater ship for the week.

"We should go over the rest of the plan," Boba said as you waited outside. When you didn't answer him, he said your name, a little too entreating for your taste. As if you didn't have a reason to be angry right now. You whipped your head around with a scowl that would rival his own.

"_We_ don't need to do anything," you spat. "_You_ can use whatever plan you'd like. I'm just here for the free ride to my new captors."

Boba's face went through a series of emotions in rapid succession, each satisfying you in a twisted way. Surprise, confusion, offense, remorse. He eventually settled back into his resting face, and you thought perhaps he'd lapse into silence as he usually did, too. But after a beat, he cleared his throat.

"I can't protect you forever," he said quietly, betraying the hurt he truly felt. You realized Maz's comment about him being careless last night had stung him more than her slapping had.

"You could've just handed me over, without all this extra money grabbing."

He shook his head. "This is more than that. We're buying time, getting Crimson Dawn off our tail...."

You didn't like he was still referring to the two of you as a collective, like you'd had any input, or even a clue, what was he doing.

"Besides," he continued, "I didn't want to make an enemy out of Hondo. He really is an old friend. With Maz turning him in, that relationship's still preserved."

You scoffed, biting down the urge to scream at him. "Oh my god. Don't tell me you _planned_ to have Maz come here."

He was silent but the answer was in his eyes.

"You... you're _impossible_!" You let your voice rise, but a particularly loud clank from the shipyard muffled the effect, further adding to your annoyance. "Must you have a secret plan for everything?!"

He spread his arms, at a loss with your attitude. "What? I'm just thinking bigger picture, working all the angles. I have to. It's the only way to survive in this universe."

"Well I'm sorry, but aside from the fact you'll be selling me at the end of all this, I thought we were working together. You should've told me about all your big picture angles and crap, or else left me chained up on your ship."

"I think that's our problem," he huffed in resignation. "We can't put that fact aside. The only way any of this is worth it to me is if I turn you in to this mystery guy. But you won't let me do that. Will you?"

You could almost feel his eyes searching you but you couldn't bear to turn your own gaze away from the blur of metalwork in front of you. You swallowed and took a purposefully calm breath.

"Of course I'll try to stop you when the time comes. But I think we both know who will win that fight. I'm the only one here risking something by cooperating with you."

Your voice sounded small and not your own, but it was the most honest and vulnerable thing you'd ever told him. You knew deep down how this story would end but had been reluctant to acknowledge it. The only hope you had was some of your questions being answered in the meantime.

Boba's hand made to reach for your shoulder, but he then thought better of it and reached out for the nearby railing instead. His voice sounded far-off when he said, "It's hard to share plans when you have conflicting interests."

There was a cough from behind, and you and Boba jolted, caught off guard. Maz stood there, her goggled eyes going between the two of you with a knowing look. You were starting to grow weary of her; she was cool enough, but way too perceptive.

"I got us a ship in Sector G, but we have a bit of trouble," she said, jerking a thumb back to the entrance of the shipyard. A large black container of a vehicle had pulled up, and pouring out of it was a squadron of white-clad soldiers.

Stormtroopers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A positive of sheltering in place during this pandemic: having more time and creative energy to get the last half of this story out!  
(I don't know if it's truly halfway. I know what the rest of the story looks like, but these emotionally charged conversations take up more space than I realized, good grief. Reader, pull yourself together. Boba's a dumbass, but he's trying.)(lol)


	17. Only Improvising

The three of you, without saying anything, began walking into the shipyard as casually as possible, careful not to draw attention to yourselves as the stormtroopers got organized just behind. But one of the officers took notice just as you were descending an unfortunately noisy metal staircase and called out to halt.

Maz and Boba slowly turned to face the man as he approached, but you had another idea. Being the furthest on the steps, just far enough below the level to be hidden, you quickly slid under the railing and into an alcove in the wall. No one would be able to see you unless they were standing directly below and happened to look up.

You could hear the officer addressing your comrades above.

_Who are you and what is your business here?_

_Maz Kanata, with my personal mechanic. We are picking up my ship and heading home._

_Wasn't there another one of you?_

_No, sir, just us. I came to catch up with some friends for the Festival of Stars, but one can only take so many days of that sort of thing. There was a malfunction with my ship's landing gear but Robert here has her all patched up now._

You wished you could see Boba's face as Maz gave him that pseudonym.

_Sorry, but no flights are permitted to leave today._

_Oh, but that nice man inside just gave me my access card._

_ Imperial orders, ma'am. No one leaves before these ships are inspected._

_ Inspected? Is this for safety violations? Because I can assure you Robert is one of the best mechanics in the galaxy. I'd fly home in a bucket if he was the one who made it._

_Ma'am, please, I need you to vacate the premises. You can try again tomorrow once the inspections are clear._

_Only a day? Well then it's certainly no safety inspection. I've dealt with enough scoundrels in my lifetime to know you must be on a man hunt._

_Ma'am..._

_I can't imagine what sort of person you'd be looking for out here, but who am I to ask anyway. I'm just going to need some time to sort this out with that gentleman in the office. It'll be another day of rent to leave my ship here, and these outer rim yards aren't cheap, you know._

_Ten minutes. Make it quick._

There was some shuffling as they left with the officer to head back to the entrance. And then it was just you and your thoughts.

Your thoughts were wild, running on an anxious energy that made all your senses feel on edge. You'd ducked into hiding on instinct. Even with a head wrap, you could've been recognized. Your concern had merely been self-preservation.

But now that you were successfully off the Empire's radar, you had the advantage, or rather, the responsibility to help your friends out, too. If these soldiers truly were looking for someone, it was not by coincidence. They had either found the Slave I and were on the hunt for a helmeted Boba Fett and his prized bounty, or had heard about Hondo's heist and were ensuring he couldn't run away. Neither of those options meant any of you could stay on this planet another night.

You'd first need to (somehow) get out of this alcove undetected, then you'd have to (somehow) help Maz and Boba sneak away while they still had that access card for the ship, and then you'd all three need to (somehow) get over to the ship undetected and (somehow) pick up Hondo before blasting out of here.

You could feel sweat pooling on your hairline under the scarf. Your eyes cast about, as if a plan of action would be written in the sky for you. You were not good with this sort of thing; the planning and scheming was much more Boba's forte.

But then you suddenly recalled something he had once said to you. _Don't pretend you have a plan...You've only been improvising this whole time._ He had meant it as an insult, but now it was giving you a new sense of self-confidence. You _had_ been improvising this whole time, and so far, it had worked pretty well.

So without further thought or ado, you jumped out from your hiding hole and onto a concrete ledge below. The bag you wore across your body thumped heavily against your side, so as you scurried along the ledge, you dug into it to see what could possibly be in there. Your fingers brushed by your music player, your alphabet chart, and then landed on an object you instantly knew was a gun.

Boba had packed your bag early that morning, paranoid about missing the train again. You'd thought the extra weight was food or something, and had been too mad at him to check. But despite his own frustration with you, he apparently trusted you enough to give you his gun again. You decided to leave it in the bag for now, remembering all your failed attempts at using it back on Jakku.

You continued to slink around the shipyard, darting around corners and skipping up stairs. It was like your first days after coming through the portal. You had no clue where you were going, but knew you had to try going somewhere. Occasionally you'd catch glimpses of the entrance through some scaffolding, and all the stormtroopers piled in front of it. It was going to be next to impossible to help Maz and Boba get past them.

After a while you passed by a group of shipyard mechanics, some human and some droid, as they reluctantly set down their tools and were made to clock out for the day. You watched from the shadows as they swiped cards through the electronic gates that surrounded each ship, and then silently followed as they grumbled their way into a sort of locker room. Most kept their cards with them as they packed up, but a one had his strapped to a belt that he threw into a cubby before stomping out.

Maybe you wouldn't be able to get your friends over to a ship, but you could try getting a ship over to them.

Before the thought of piloting a massive spaceship could scare you, you slipped the keycard into your pocket and rushed back into the shipyard. You had your pick of vehicles, but realistically you'd have to pick one close by so as not to waste time running through the entire industrial space. You settled on a smaller cruiser nearby that seemed unassuming, in case you'd need to blend in later.

But no sooner did you start making a beeline for the ship did a line of stormtroopers start snaking their way down into the yard just in front of you. Two of them noticed and peeled off from the pack, ordering you to state your business.

You panicked and took off running, which ended up being a bad idea. They pursued, firing warning shots from their blasters, giving you flashbacks to the last time you'd run from stormtroopers. That time you'd ended up paralyzed on the ground. This time, you decided to try firing back.

Crouching behind some nearby boxes, you brought out the gun from your bag. You took one big breath before popping up and pulling the trigger.

Nothing.

You cursed and crouched back down, a blast nearly missing your head. The soldiers called out for you to cease firing as you fiddled with the gun, trying to find the safety. Their voices were growing closer. You finally found the switch and tried again, firing as many blasts as you could. The gun kicked in your hand more than you thought it would, throwing off your aim, and as the stormtroopers returned fire, you crouched lower and continued firing blind.

Suddenly, their blasts stopped. You peered over the boxes to see both soldiers fallen with one sizzling hole in each of their chest plates. Had you done that?

"I really need to teach you how to use a gun," Boba said from behind you.

His tone was disappointed, but his face had a touch more... concern? No, you were imagining it. You shook your head as he held open a door behind him. You wanted to say something snippy in reply, but the commotion was drawing more stormtroopers your way, so you swallowed your sass and followed him inside.

It was a hallway just outside the lockers you'd been in earlier. Boba jammed the door shut and led you down it, gun poised for action. He moved differently than he would in his armor, more cautious and stiff. You could tell he felt exposed and was trying to compensate. But you were relieved to have someone else carrying a gun for you.

"I got one of those access cards," you told him.

He looked over his shoulder with a cocked eyebrow. "Oh? Planning to steal a ship are we?"

"Commandeer," you said with a smirk.

He laughed a little, but you could hear his nerves through it. He really was having a hard time without his armor.

"Where's Maz?"

Boba poked into a room, found it empty, and moved on. He did this all along the hall. "She's taking the speeder out to Jedha City. We're pretty sure they're looking for Hondo. He must have finished the job early. She'll look for him and we'll pick them up."

A bang came from behind; the soldiers were trying to get through the door. You both sped up your pace, eventually running through the hall, unsure where it was leading you but trusting it'd take you somewhere deeper into the shipyard and further from the Empire.

The hall eventually led into a large break room of sorts, with news monitors lining one wall. There was a door on the opposite wall that appeared to lead back outside. Boba rushed for it, but you wound up stopped in front of one of the screens.

You could hear him call your name a few times, but couldn't tear your attention away from the images flashing before you. News of war, of the Empire forcefully expanding their influence to new planets in unknown regions. One such planet had resisted recently, and in return, had been completely decimated.

His hand on your upper back pulled you out of your shock just enough for you to whisper, "It's my home."


	18. To Steal, or Commandeer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note: I purposefully have not named your planet, in case you'd like to imagine yourself coming from somewhere else. Or you can be from Earth. The details are up to you....

He said your name one more time, so gently, you only barely heard it over the din of your inner heartache. "We have to keep moving."

You nodded numbly, allowing Boba to take your upper arm and lead you outside.

You were on the opposite side of the shipyard from where you started. The sun was bearing down much more strongly at this angle, reflecting off the various pieces of metal in a blinding display. You were grateful; it kept your tears from falling.

"This one will do." Boba was referring to a moderately sized ship nearby, not unlike the one you'd been planning to take earlier.

You fished the access card from your pocket and handed it to him, watching as he opened the gate and began inspecting the vehicle, but not really comprehending any of his actions.

Naturally you'd thought of home many times over the last several weeks. It was what had kept you going. Maybe you'd be chasing down answers for a while. Maybe you'd end up sold off at the end of it. But one day, eventually, you'd make your way back home. To your house, your family, your life.

What were you supposed to fight for now?

"Looks like they were working on the deflector shields." Boba was kneeling by some thick cables and hoses, reaching from steaming holes in the ground up to the underbelly of the ship. He twisted one of them, getting it to pop off after a few tugs.

Some sounds behind you suggested the stormtroopers had almost caught up. Boba looked over at you, hesitating at your blank expression for just a second.

"We can't fly with these still attached. Come get them off; I'll cover you."

It was a decent plan, but just then the door you'd come out of banged open, white-clad soldiers pouring out with guns raised. As soon as they saw the two of you just across the pathway, they started shooting. You were still by the gate, too far to make it to Boba safely. Your only option was to flee up the ramp and into the ship.

You stumbled into the cockpit, adrenaline amping back up again. You could see the troopers lined up below. Boba was too far underneath the ship to see, but shots were being fired back... successfully, but slowly. He wouldn't be able to take them down and get the cables disconnected by himself.

"I'll cover you," you mumbled.

Settling into the pilot seat, you took in all the buttons and switches. Unfortunately, only some were labeled, so even though you now understood the symbols, you still weren't sure what each one would do. You tested a few that looked promising, getting some whirring sounds in response. Another couple flicks and twists got the lights on.

A pair of what looked to be joysticks protruded on either side of your legs. You were able to pull them out to a comfortable position by your lap. There was a red button on top of each, and even with your limited knowledge of starships, you knew what they'd do.

The blasts shot out from somewhere below, hitting the side of the canyon in front of you with ferocity. The aim was well above the troopers on the ground, and while it distracted them at first, they immediately went back to shooting at Boba.

Your brow furrowed and you laid into the buttons, sending out an onslaught of blasts. You knew these soldiers weren't the exact ones attacking your home planet, but it was easy enough to pretend, and your rage had to go somewhere. The blasts were wearing into the cliffside, breaking off large chunks and sending debris falling down. Eventually a whole slab of the cliff collapsed under the deluge and tumbled down into the ranks of stormtroopers. Their firing ceased as they were either swallowed up or made to run.

That should buy some time, you thought, until the whole ship lurched suddenly. Something was hitting it from behind. You remembered Boba saying something about no deflector shields and knew this vehicle wouldn't be able to take any damage. With a curse, you went back to randomly pushing buttons and pulling levers, hoping one would do something. _Anything_.

The ship started to rise as soon as you flicked a switch off to the side. You were going to let it hover for a moment, just until Boba could make it on board, but another hit from behind sent the ship careening forward. You braced yourself in the seat, anticipating collision with the canyon. But then it yanked back and to the side, clearly still tethered to the ground. You wrestled with the joysticks, trying to get it back upright.

You heard your name being called through the open ramp door behind you.

"Go! Just go!" Boba's voice fought to be heard above the commotion.

You shifted the joysticks to the side, getting the ship to turn. From here you could see there was a cannon-like weapon set up across the shipyard, an Imperial officer amping it up to fire your way again. You expected to be jerked around by the hose again, but Boba must have finally disconnected it as no such movement happened. You set your focus on now getting away.

Your steering was shaky, and it took you some trail-and-error to figure out one of the joysticks controlled your up-down movements while the other was responsible for the gas and brakes. There was a lot of scraping against other ships in the yard as you played around with it. But you managed the hang of it just before another missile was fired, speeding above it and away.

As you came out of the shipyard, moving at a quick but cautious speed, you had to steady the nerves that had built up in your gut with a few deep breaths. You were _flying_. Somehow, despite being significantly more complex, you found the ship more comfortable to manage than a gun.

Boba had told you to "just go"... did he expect you to go back for him? Or was he okay to fend for himself? As you went back and forth on your options, you heard a strange sound. It almost sounded like someone shouting your name.

Your heart leapt in your throat. _It was_. You slowed the ship's speed and pressed the one button that did have a label: auto-pilot. You then rushed out of the cockpit and over to the ramp. None of the buttons you'd frantically pressed before had closed it. And thank God, because just below, clinging onto one of the hoses still dangling from the hull, was Boba Fett.

"Fuckin' A," you couldn't help but exhale in both surprise and irritation.

He was slowly shimmying up the hose, closer to the ship, but still too far to reach the ramp. You looked around, at a loss how to help. You were too paranoid to land the ship, in case the Empire ended up flying after you. What had he been thinking?

"I think I can make it," he was calling to you, having reached your eye level. "If you maybe just... reach out a little... just in case...."

He was planning to leap over. You groaned at the thought. He could probably grab the edge if he did it right, but that'd mean you'd have to help pull him up. There was no way you could manage that without falling. But the earnest look he gave you forced you to find a way to make it work.

Your bag was still strung across your body. You slipped it down to your waist, finding a hook just inside the ship to hold the strap. Carefully, you crept out onto the ramp until only the bag on your waist was holding you steady. You positioned your legs for leverage and then nodded at Boba to go for it.

He must not have wanted to give himself time to talk himself out of it. He immediately jumped, just catching the lip of the ramp with one elbow. His other arm had gone out toward you, and you'd grasped it desperately. Your bag dug into your side as his weight threatened to pull you both down. He grunted as you clawed at his back with your other hand, trying to hoist him up as best you could.

It was a lot of effort, but with some strategic maneuvering by both of you, Boba eventually got up onto the ramp and was able to crawl with you back into the ship. He reached up and practically punched the control panel to close the ramp before collapsing next to you with a huff. It was now darker, and your ears rang from the sudden absence of wind rushing by. The air felt still and your adrenaline was wearing off.

You couldn't help it; you started to laugh. It sounded like Boba was chuckling with you, but soon you couldn't tell what he was doing as your laughter then turned to tears.

He didn't hesitate this time as he reached out for you, gripping your shoulder just enough for you to know his intentions. His thumb brushed along your collarbone in gentle strokes. Maybe a few days ago you would've welcomed his touch, but now it only added to your pain. He didn't care, not really, not in the way you wanted him to. And now with your family gone, the reality of how alone you truly were hit hard.

"Please," you whispered through your tears. "Leave. Let me feel this."

His hand fell. Eventually he must have gotten up and went into the cockpit, as you soon felt the ship shift into a different direction. But they were all trivial details. Right now, all you could recognize was how empty and weak you felt.

You let your body shake with bitter sobs. And you stayed that way for a long while.


	19. Never Break the Chain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who likes a bit of music accompanying their stories, the title for this chapter was inspired by Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." Mostly for the melody and Feel the song gives to this part of the story, but the lyrics kinda fit too.

Thankfully it hadn't taken long to find Maz and Hondo before blasting off into the darkness of space. It had been quite the commotion getting them on board. Maz had found Hondo hiding out in the desert, already laying the groundwork with him by pretending to have gone after the pirate on her own. Once your stolen ship had arrived, she then continued the ruse by slapping Boba again and re-giving her speech about how he owed her. Hondo, naturally, was not a fan of this turn of events and had to be forced into the ship by the other two. There was no cage this time, so they locked him in the refresher to cool off for a bit.

You weren't a part of any of it. You'd perched yourself on top of some crates in what was presumably the cargo hold. It was a much smaller ship than what you were used to being in, but there was a window back here that gave you a view of the stars now streaming past, a blurred image that allowed you to zone out just enough to numb the pain.

Maz must have sensed your desire to be distant, as she didn't approach you but instead settled into the cockpit alongside Boba as he took the lot of you into hyperspace. Occasionally you'd catch bits of their conversation down the hall.

_I'm afraid you won't be getting a cut of Hondo's profit after all._

_ It's fine. There was a lot that didn't go according to plan today._

_ Were you made?_

_ I don't think so. She had the scarf on. We were only random troublemakers to them._

Your scarf was now balled up in your lap, having been used as makeshift tissue to sop up your emotional mess earlier. You were partially embarrassed to have fallen apart like that. But overall, you just didn't care anymore.

"I'm sorry."

It took you a few seconds to realize Boba's low voice was now in the room, addressing you. You only briefly looked over at him before returning your gaze to the mesmerizing blue streaks outside.

"Are you now?"

"Yes," he maintained, awkwardly taking half a step forward before pulling up. "I... Well, I may know a little something about losing a home...."

If you still cared about anything, your curiosity would've been pulled in by this hint at the bounty hunter's personal life. But you didn't care, so you didn't ask.

He shuffled another half-foot forward again. "This won't mean anything to you right now, but one day you will wake up somewhere, and you'll realize you've made a new home for yourself, and that everything's okay."

When you remained silent, he added more quietly, "But until then, it's going to really suck."

You didn't know how to respond. You supposed you appreciated how well-meaning it was, how his words eased _some_ comfort into your heart. And there was that part of you, small but persistent, that was keenly aware of how close he was standing next to you... The same part of you that found peace in gazing at his sleeping face... that leaned into his various innocent touches, wanting just a tiny bit more... that searched for him in a crowd, and wondered what he was thinking at any given moment, and gave him second chances....

But it was becoming more and more difficult to justify what that part of you wanted. Not when the inevitable was drawing ever closer.

"Makes it easier for you, doesn't it," you ended up saying. You could see from the corner of your eye that he was perplexed. "I won't fight you when the time comes. I won't have anywhere to go."

Now you could see his shoulders fall. "You don't have to say that."

"Why not? It's the truth. You said it yourself. There's only one way I'm worth anything to you."

"That's not... You don't... _Hmph_." He huffed and ran a hand through his hair, collecting himself. You could tell he was struggling to keep composed, not having the luxury of a helmet to hide behind. "Look, I just think we make a good team. We've already fought off Crimson Dawn together. And now the Empire twice. Well, I mean the first time it was mostly me; you were passed out on the ground."

"And whose fault was that?" you rolled your eyes.

"I told you not to run."

He said it lighthearted enough, but you weren't in the mood to play along.

"Right, because I'm supposed to be a good little prisoner who does what she's told."

"No," he muttered your name under his breath, almost like a curse. "All I'm saying is you don't have to go to the Rangs. We've made it this far, so let's keep going. You have your music device thing, and I can play you the commission message in case you pick up on something I didn't... We can figure this out."

You turned to face him fully now, letting your legs drop to dangle from the edge of your perch. You liked that he was changing his mind on the Rang plan, but you doubted he'd end up changing his mind on anything else. "And then what, Boba? You skip out on millions of credits so we can keep being a team?"

He only blinked a few times, so you continued. "I don't think we should pretend we can be anything other than what we are: a ruthless bounty hunter and a coveted prize."

"Is that all you think I am?"

You were silent, choosing to look down at your feet as they swung aimlessly back and forth. After a few moments, he eventually left, and you somehow felt even worse than you had before.

* * *

The ship soon pulled out of hyperspace and docked at a refueling station. Hondo was let out and Maz coaxed you to gather as well, to go over the plan. She would be the one to take the two of you to the Rang Clan, collecting only half the bounty on Hondo in exchange for your safety. She would stick around to help you get settled and then regularly check in until Boba came for you. Boba, meanwhile, would be leaving from here, getting back to the Slave I and pursuing whatever leads he could find on your buyer alone.

When the time came to part ways, Boba purposefully avoided eye contact with you. You forced him to break it for just a moment as you held out your bag to him.

"I don't need these things anymore," you explained with a shrug. The things, in question, were the alphabet chart (which you'd already mastered), Boba's gun (something you didn't want to try using again), and your music player... a broken device that now only brought up painful memories for you, but could end up being of use to him in his search.

Boba took the bag without a word and made his way out into the facility with it slung on his back.

"Come on, kid," said Hondo. Him and Maz stood beside you, wearing very different expressions. One was sympathetic, and the other relieved. Hondo linked his arm in yours as you went back up into the ship. "I'll tell you all about the statue we secured in the Holy City."

You reached the top of the ramp and looked back at Boba's disappearing frame. This was for the best, you reassured yourself. You were both getting what you really wanted; he, a shot at his reward, and you, some quiet rest.

There was no way for you to know in that moment, that rest would be the last thing waiting for you at your new destination.


	20. Darkness at Dawn

Four Days Later...

"So, are we going to talk today?"

The tall, slender man that had just walked into your little room had his head cocked and his hands clasped behind his back. His face had ugly looking stripes up and down it, but you couldn't tell if they were scars or birthmarks. Perhaps they were painted on. Who cared. You certainly didn't.

The man was named Dryden Vos. Head of Crimson Dawn. He and his lieutenants had been waiting for you among the slain bodies of the Rang Clan. Maz and Hondo had been carried off to who-knew-where, while you were tied up in a small room on their ship. It was made clear right away that while you were too valuable to kill, they weren't afraid to push you. To try breaking you.

"I'll only talk to tell you, once again, that I know nothing."

Your voice was raspy, a result of fatigue, dehydration... screaming.... Your whole body was tired and in pain, especially your wrists from ropes they were tied to. And to make matters worse, you'd started your period again the day the crime syndicate had finally taken you. They weren't as obliging to your requests for supplies as your first captor had been, leaving you to sit in your own, miserable mess this whole time. Your flow was beginning to let up now, but the stains and the smell and the embarrassment lingered.

It was like you'd come full circle, you thought glumly.

But you weren't broken yet.

Dryden chuckled and began pacing around you. His usual routine. Right now your knees were on the floor, your arms strung up by ropes that seemed to dig impossibly deeper into your wrists each day. He would turn about you a few times, repeating the same questions and growing more annoyed with your lack of response. Then the ropes would be pulled and you'd end up on your tippy-toes, where he'd then wave his weird little glowing daggers in your face before storming out.

Every day so far it'd been the same, although yesterday he'd actually cut you with his blade. A small flick across your cheek, just beneath your right eye. A regular blade would've left only a scratch, but these blades had a sharp, almost dark energy to them. Your face was still stinging from it. You were hoping he'd be in a better mood today so you wouldn't have to see what further damage they were capable of.

"You see, I find that hard to believe," Dryden was saying, his voice soft and drawling. He could've been considered handsome, a real debonair of a man any woman would pine for. But you could hear the sinister undertones of his voice. You'd seen the emptiness in his blue eyes. He disgusted you. "I find it hard to believe that someone out there values you _so highly_ and you know nothing about it."

He stopped in front of you, waiting for you to look up at him before smirking. "Lift her up!" he shouted out. Somewhere beyond your room, someone cranked on a lever and you slowly began to rise. Your hands hand long grown numb from the lack of circulation, but the tightening of the ropes always brought a little jolt of pain that only grew worse with each passing day. You were sure your hands would soon just fall off altogether.

When you'd been raised just to meet him at eye level, Dryden resumed his pacing. This time, though, he didn't pull out his blades, but kept his hands tightly grasped behind him. "This is the last time I will be asking you this, so think very carefully about what you want. Who has the five million credit bounty on your head?"

You opened your mouth to respond with the same answer out of habit, but Dryden quickly shot up a hand to stop you.

"I said _think_, girl," he growled slightly. Impatience flashed across his face before he adjusted his posture and recomposed himself. "We're approaching the Imperial base in just a few hours, and I have no issues handing you over to them instead. One million is still worth the amount of trouble you've caused us, as is getting into the Empire's good graces."

"Then why don't you just sell me to them and leave me alone?"

Dryden wagged a finger at you while chuckling. "Ah, but do you really want to take your chances in an Imperial cell? Their treatment of you won't be any better than what you've seen here. But if there's someone out there willing to pay more, I doubt they'll want to cause you any harm."

He pulled up in front of you again, smirking just inches from your face. "It would be in your best interest to make sure we collect the other bounty, not the Empire's. So... who is it?"

Your nose wrinkled; his breath smelled like fish.

"Don't tell me what my best interest is. I know what I want."

"Which is what?"

"To go home," you breathed out, hanging your head in weariness. Saying the words only made you feel weaker, made you feel like giving up. What did it matter if you finally found the mystery buyer, or were sold to the Empire, or tortured here forever?

What did _you_ matter?

"Which is where?" Dryden asked you, still keen on getting something out of you. "Please, go on, tell me all about your home and childhood and all the things you know. Perhaps you don't know anything about this bounty after all, but that doesn't mean there isn't a little clue somewhere in your life that can lead me to it."

Dryden had his blade out now, holding it just beside your other cheek. He tilted your chin up to face him again, to see the merciless smirk held in his features there.

You supposed you wouldn't have cared what he'd done to you in that moment, had it played out. You were on the cusp of letting go of everything and letting your spirit drift away forever. But the ship jerked suddenly, taking the chance away.

The ship slanted. Your wrists strained against the ropes as you dangled uncomfortably to the side. Dryden had slid off, catching himself on the opposite wall. Lights flickered and a warning bell went off somewhere in the distance. There was also the faint but distinct sound of shooting.

"Fuck's sake," Dryden swore as he pushed his way out of the room, leaning against walls to stable himself as he disappeared down the hall.

You continued to hang there, now feeling more pain than ever as the ropes threatened to tear you apart. Tears began to stream down your face reluctantly. You were trying to stay strong, just in case the commotion could help you find a way to escape somehow.

Booms and shouts echoed around. The main lights eventually went out altogether, leaving only the pale florescent strips along the floorboards to see by. There was a red alert light somewhere out in the hall, its beam sweeping past your room every few seconds.

As you looked around helplessly, trying to think of something you could do, you suddenly dropped to the floor. The ropes had been released from the mechanisms in the ceiling, falling around you in coils. You quickly worked to free the knots from your wrists, cringing at how the lack of pressure now made them sting and ooze with blood and pus.

You rose shakily to your feet, fighting to keep balanced on the sloping ship. You stumbled toward the door, grasping the doorframe for support just as an unmistakable silhouette appeared in the red-lit hallway.

"Boba," you began to rasp out, but not before he gripped both of your shoulders.

"Did they hurt you?" He had his armor back on: helmet, cape, jetpack, everything. The sweeping red light reflected off of it in waves. You'd almost forgotten how it all looked.

It was obvious you'd been roughed up, and not by accident. But you knew it wasn't a question so much as a statement. Even through the helmet you could tell he was looking at you square on. There was a determination in his voice. A fierceness, almost. He was looking for a reason to hurt someone himself.

After all you'd been through, after all the pain and humiliation and cruelty, you had no reservations in giving it to him. With one small nod of your head, he straightened up and pointed down the hall.

"Get to the ship."

And then he set off in the opposite direction, where the leader of Crimson Dawn had gone down a short time before.


	21. A Farewell to Friends

You had been getting a glass of water, just before bed. You'd done your best not to wake anyone, being the last to finally turn in for the night. The cat was the only one who'd been disturbed by your soft padding across the tile floor. You gave it a little wink, as if sharing a secret, and then raised the glass to your lips.

And then you'd disappeared.

You weren't sure why the memory came to you now as you stumbled your way through the sloping halls of Crimson Dawn's starship. That glass of water had probably shattered all over the floor. Would your family have heard it? Had they been as scared and confused as you had felt going through that portal? Were any of them still alive?

You pictured their faces as you rounded the next dimly lit corner. The faces of everyone that had once been part of your world... family, friends, neighbors, celebrities, animals.... You should have been there with them all when the Empire took over. Whatever fate they faced should have been yours, too.

But for some reason, the galaxy had spared you. Spared you one horror, and spat you out into another. Sent you on this crazy, almost hopeless adventure around the galaxy to find answers. You'd been chained up and shot at, hunted and hurt and humiliated and tricked. And all for what?

You'd done some thinking while imprisoned on this ship. At first, your mind had wandered in circles, repeating the same thoughts over and over obsessively and without end. Then you'd started to latch on to some things. Tiny details that poked and prodded their way into importance. But eventually your energy had drained and your spirit deflated, and those thoughts had lost their hold on you. You would die on this ship, you'd thought, so nothing mattered.

You'd been so ready to give up. But seeing Boba again had awakened something within you. A new hope; though for what, you weren't entirely sure. All you knew was those ideas you'd had would lead you somewhere, if only you kept pushing. Kept fighting. Just a little bit further....

You approached the end of the hall, which opened up into a moderately-sized aircraft hangar. There was damage all around. Ships that looked like they'd been in a collision, walls with skid marks, wires sparking, pipes bursting, sirens blaring. And in the middle of the chaos, as if in the eye of a hurricane, was the Slave I.

You were eager to race for it, nestle yourself somewhere deep in its interior, and finally get the rest you'd been longing for. But as you passed through the opening of the hangar, something caught your eye. A control panel, protruding from the wall just beside you. And suddenly, the faces of your past were replaced by those of the unlikely friends you'd made on this journey. Perhaps you couldn't save your old friends, but you could save your new ones.

You stopped at the consul, thankful you'd learned the Aurebesh symbols, so it didn't take you long to pull up what you needed on the screen. The map of the starship was buzzing with activity. Dozens of heat signatures were zipping around the various corridors. Several were bunched up in the middle of the ship, perhaps in a control room. One little dot was making its way toward it, colliding with other dots along the way until they slowly faded into nothing.

And then there was a pair remaining stationary in a small room just a short ways away. Maz and Hondo. Thankfully no one seemed to bother lingering around the damaged hangar, giving you time to figure out how to remotely open their cell before taking off to get them.

They met you half way. Maz immediately reached out for you, pulling you down for a quick embrace as she hummed your name and rubbed your back soothingly. Hondo gave you an apologetic half-smile.

"Good to see you standing, kid," he nodded.

"Barely," you said, your voice like gravel. "If it wasn't for Boba..."

Maz and Hondo exchanged a look but you were too tired to read into it.

"His ship is back this way," you said as you turned to head in the right direction. You pulled up when you noticed neither had moved to follow.

"I imagine the escape pods would be close, yes?" Maz turned to the pirate.

Hondo looked down the opposite corridor with hands on his hips thoughtfully. "This is a Kalevalan yacht. They would definitely have them on this side of the ship."

"What are you guys talking about?"

Maz reached out for your hand, being careful not to aggravate the wounds on your wrist. She pressed it gently.

"My dear. You started this journey with Boba. You will finish it with him, too. Don't let two old creatures like us get in the way."

"Who you calling old?" Hondo grumbled behind her. But his expression toward you was the same as hers. This was something they'd clearly already worked out between them. And their minds were made.

"Go," Maz entreated. "You are so close to finding what you've been searching for. I can _feel_ it."

She gave your hand a slight squeeze before letting go. The way she said the word made it seem like it was more than just her being nice, or even having a hunch. It was like she could see into the future and was letting you know your fight wouldn't be for nothing.

"But..." you protested, though it was half-hearted. You knew it was time to part ways.

"We'll be fine, little miss," Hondo waved you off. "She is right, we have lived a long time. And we've survived much worse than this." He paused and then chuckled. "Maybe we'll tell you the stories some day."

A small smile crept into your otherwise weary features. "Promise?"

"Well, if you don't die," he chuckled again, earning a punch on his arm from Maz.

"The pods are up ahead," you said, remembering seeing them on the map. "Should only be a few yards. Make two lefts."

They turned to head where you'd directed. Maz winked at you from over her shoulder. "We'll meet again, my dear. Friends always reconnect at just the right time."

* * *

As you made your way back to the hangar, the lights kicked back on and the ship righted itself so you were no longer shuffling along walls to stand upright. You paused in front of the consul again to see if anything else had changed. A whole line of heat signatures were headed your direction, one dot just ahead of them. In a matter of seconds, you could hear shouts and blasters firing just a corridor away.

You hurried across the hangar toward the Slave I, regretting how your stiff muscles were making you move more slowly than you wanted. It was like those dreams where you wanted to run but couldn't quite make it to speed.

A few droids pilfered around, attempting to clean up the mess Boba had made when landing. You were startled by them at first, though of course they wouldn't have popped up on the heat map. But they didn't pay you any attention so you returned the favor and continued pushing your way toward safety.

Just as you reached the ramp, Boba came careening from around the corner, followed by blaster shots. Once he was in the open space of the hangar, he ignited his jetpack and fired a few rounds back at his assailants. Dryden Vos was in the middle of the group, barking orders furiously. You noted, with great satisfaction, that his face was bruised and he was bent over with a protective arm around his middle.

One shot hit Boba's jetpack, causing it to sputter and lose altitude quickly. You were already prepared to help. Having made it to the top of the ramp, you rifled through the compartment in the wall that held Boba's miscellaneous weapons. You settled on a small, metallic ball. A grenade, you hoped. Using what strength you had left, you pressed the button on top and hurled it, aiming for Dryden.

The ball clanked along the floor just in front of the group as Boba touched on the ground and made a run for his ship. Only a few of the criminals had time to jump out of the way before it exploded. Boba skipped up the ramp, past you, and up into the cockpit. You couldn't see through the smoke to tell who'd all been harmed, but Dryden's voice soon roared through it.

The Slave I began to rise and the ramp started to close. But you could clearly hear the threats he was screaming after you.

"You'll regret making an enemy out of me, Fett! There's not a single planet can hide on where I won't find her!"


	22. Caring Sentiments

You closed your eyes and let your face rest against the cool metal interior of the Slave I. You focused on getting your breathing under control. Calming the buzzing in your head. Staying conscious.

You could sense his motion behind you as he clambered down from the cockpit, but you didn't immediately give him your attention. And he didn't demand it. You took in a few breaths and then let your eyes slowly flutter back open.

Boba stood in front of you, his helmet and jetpack off, but nothing more. When you finally pushed yourself off the wall, he took hold of your shoulders and bent so were at eye level.

"They hurt you?" It was more of a question now than it had been on Crimson Dawn's ship. His eyes were wide, full of an emotion you'd never seen in them before. Fear.

You looked down at the floor. "I'm fine," you mumbled, wanting to assure him you were stronger than he thought. But the words didn't sound right even to you. As difficult as it was to admit, you were far from fine.

The sound of your name made you look back up at him. He lifted a gloved hand to cup the side of your head, brushing his thumb just below the cut on your cheekbone.

"Show me," he whispered.

You hesitated before finally lifting up your hands. There was pain elsewhere. Everywhere, really. Your wrists, though, were the worst of it.

He gingerly took one in each of his own hands, inspecting them for a moment.

"Come sit down," he then said, leading you carefully into the nook just to the side of the lavatory. Along one wall was a counter, where he promptly began rummaging for supplies. From the opposite wall hung a small bed, his bunk. You sat on the edge of it hesitantly until he situated himself next to you, bringing your wrists into his lap.

"This is going to hurt," he warned, looking up at you sympathetically. He had taken off his gloves and scraped some kind of white goo from a jar. Upon nodding your head, he applied it liberally on one wrist. You almost jerked your hand away at the sudden burning sensation that seemed to be seeping straight through you. But Boba held you in place, massaging the salve deeper into your wounds. After a few agonizing seconds, the pain finally numbed down to a slight tingle, enough for you to relax again.

He did the same for your other wrist, all the while keeping his furrowed gaze down at his work. He wasn't rough, only thorough.

"I wish I could've done more to him," he eventually muttered. "Vos. I had him cornered for a few minutes but his lieutenants were on me too fast."

You weren't sure how to respond, so you asked the only question you could think of. "So you found the buyer?"

Boba glanced up at you, confused, then seemed to remember there was only one reason he was supposed to come back for you. He shook his head and cleared his throat, unrolling some gauze. "No. I... I just... It didn't feel right. Leaving you."

You watched as he began to carefully wrap the bandaging around your wrist. "Well, you're going to have to leave me when you do find the buyer."

He looked up at you suddenly. "What if I didn't?" His gaze on you was steady, serious, but his voice wavered from... shyness? Pink dotted the top of his cheeks and you were suddenly aware of his deep breathing. Had he really come back for you? Just for you?

"Then you wouldn't get the money," you answered his question cautiously. You weren't sure where this was headed and were much too tired to be misled with false hope.

"Because that's all that matters to me, right? Because I'm nothing more than a ruthless bounty hunter?"

"I'm sorry," you said softly. "I know you're more than that."

He was so much more, you'd come to discover. He was a tinkerer, keeping his hands busy as a way to think. He was an observer who noticed even the tiniest details. He was a planner and a skilled pilot and a surviver. And he was also a sweetheart, though you suspected he wouldn't take well to that word. He needed people to think of him as ruthless and tough, to only know his armor. But he'd shown you what was underneath. A calm, gentle spirit who latched on to those he respected and did everything he could to care for them.

"I'm sorry, too," he said, finishing up with your bandages. "For a while, I just tried to protect you. When I realized I couldn't do it on my own, I tried being creative instead. But that plan only got you hurt."

"Well I can't protect myself, either. As much as I'd like to be okay on my own... I cant."

He looked back up at you, allowing your hands to rest in his. "Which is why I meant what I said. That we make a good team. We've been our best when we've worked together."

You couldn't quite conjure up any examples in your exhausted mind, but you knew in your heart it was true.

"There are other bounties in the galaxy," his next words came out a little quicker, as if he had to say them before he lost his nerve. "We can disappear, lay low for a while. Until they all forget about you. You'll be nothing more than a memory, a myth. And then we can... well, we can do whatever we'd like. I can teach you how to shoot. We can pick up bounties or help with more heists. Or we can just travel around. Find you a new planet to call home."

You sighed as you tried following along with his ideas. You were tired. So, so tired. Target practice and travel sounded great and all, but right now, you wanted nothing more than to curl up somewhere and sleep away all your pain and troubles....

No, that wasn't quite true. As you realized what Boba's words really meant, what he was really trying to tell you, you knew there was one thing you wanted to do more. You wanted to curl up _with him_. To have his strong arms wrap around you. To feel the warmth of his breath and hear the steady beating of his courageous heart. To know that with him, you were not alone.

Perhaps if you had the energy you could deny having such desires. You'd been denying them for some time now, believing it'd only lead to heartbreak. But now he was sitting so close and his amber eyes were so sincere. And how could he possibly hurt you more than you already had been?

"You would do that?" you asked, needing him to be very clear with his intentions. "Other bounties aren't as much as what I'm worth. You'd honestly give that up just to... be... with me?"

His cheeks grew flushed again and he took in a deep, nervous breath. But then he smiled, muttering your name like a cherished secret. "You're worth far more than any amount of credits."

You both seemed to move at the same time, you to lean in closer and he to hold your face in his hands. He ran a thumb just along the corner of your mouth.

"I know you're tired," he said, low and breathy. "But can I kiss you?"

You could feel your face flushing now too. You nodded, already closing your eyes in anticipation. His mouth was soon on yours, softly at first, as if waiting to see how much you really wanted of him. Then more ardently once you scooted yourself closer, lifting up your swollen, bruised hands to rest lightly on his chest plate. He let out a contented sigh and you immediately knew that no other moment in your life would ever be sweeter.

Everything around you, everything within you, simply melted away.


	23. The Other Buyer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all had a great Star Wars day! Here's a little treat to celebrate.

You could've stayed in that moment forever.

Your lips moving along with his, slowly and carefully. Your fingers skimming gently over the folds of the tunic bunched at his neck, finding purchase in his soft curls. His breath tickling your chin as he continued to sigh in satisfaction.

But each kiss seemed to waken you just a little more, stirring your weary spirit and sending pleasant but restless waves through your battered body. You suppose that energy could've led you to turn those kisses into something more; there was certainly a growing warmth in your core that would've welcomed it. But instead, it was your mind that took over. It was pulling forth memories of your stay in the Crimson Dawn cell, and the ideas you'd formed there.

You pulled back from Boba as your mind raced through those ideas again, confirming they still made any sense.

"That bad, huh?"

He was trying to sound playful, but it was clear he really was self-conscious. You imagined he probably didn't have much experience, and you suddenly breaking away didn't exactly help his confidence.

"No," you were quick to say, squeezing your hands slightly along his shoulders. "No, I... I...."

You didn't know where to begin. But you had to start somewhere. After all the things he'd said to you, you had to let him know what you wanted now.

"I can't go back to my old life," you said, putting care behind each word. "But I also can't start a new one. Not yet, not without ending this mess once and for all. I would love nothing more than to run off with you, and maybe we can someday soon, but you have to understand why that's just not possible right now."

If Boba was hurt, he hid it well, keeping his features in their usual, neutral state as you spoke. Since he wasn't giving you a reaction yet, you continued.

"No one is going to simply forget about this bounty on my head. They will keep hunting me, no matter where we go. That's no way to live."

Boba sighed, though not in the satisfied way he had before. He lifted his hands up to wrap around your wrists, moving his calloused fingers along the bandaging while he looked at you with a sad smile.

"Of course I understand," he murmured. "We can keep searching."

You tried to take comfort in the soothing motions of his hands on yours, a sign that he hadn't pulled away or grown upset yet. However, you doubted he'd like what you had to say next. You steadied your nerves with a deep breath.

"We don't need to search, because I know where to go."

His eyebrows raised, curious. "You do?"

You brought your hands down from his shoulders, grasping his own firmly in the space between your laps. "Think about it. Think about how off this whole thing has been, right from the beginning. We've been looking for answers to questions like where and why. But what about _how_? How is it that these portals are meant to be random, taking random people from random planets at random times... and yet, someone knew exactly when and where I would be going through one, far enough in advance to get you to wait for me."

The words spilled from your mouth, eager to finally be heard. The thoughts had been eating at you while in Crimson Dawn's cell. It felt good, freeing even, to share them with another.

"Right," Boba said flatly. "So this guy planned it. Or just predicted it."

You shook your head. "He isn't the only one with a bounty on my head. They weren't the only ones who knew I was coming."

"The Empire."

No sooner had he breathed the name did you resume your rambling.

"A personal photo of me was hung up on posters in distant planets just days after I went through the portal, by people who now own my planet. That can't be a coincidence. And their price for my capture may not be as high, but it's still significant. Maybe they want me for the same reasons as this other guy. Maybe they were able to predict or plan my trip through the portal, too. At the very least, they know _something_."

Boba had closed his eyes and was rubbing the bridge of his nose. It occurred to you he was tired as well, and you briefly wondered how long he had gone without sleep while you were apart.

"So..." He opened his eyes but kept them scrunched in thought. "What, are you going to knock on the Emperor's door and ask him what's going on?"

"Yes," you said firmly. Obviously there'd be a better way to do it, but that was beside the point. "If anyone has answers, anyone that we can go to right away without all this clue hunting, it's the Empire."

He grasped your wrists again, holding them up to you. "And you'd risk going through something like this again?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to be done with this."

You meant it. Despite your attention being brought back to your wounds and the dull ache that had settled in them. Despite the spike of energy your mind had given you now fading back into fatigue. Despite all the suffering and confusion and fear you'd just gone through. You really were prepared to go through it all again if it meant you could then be freed from it. If you could finally move on.

Boba was frowning. "Well I can't risk you getting hurt again," he said, revealing just how much guilt he truly had over what'd happened to you. You were touched, but also defeated. If he wasn't willing to help you, or was actually going to stop you....

But then he spoke again, his tone kinder. "So we'll need a plan. Several plans. Nothing gets left to chance. We'll get you answers, but more important is you getting the chance at a new life."

You smiled. "Thank you," you whispered.

"And we'll do it _after_ you rest," he said, getting up from the bunk and starting to clean up the supplies he'd left on the counter. "You need to heal."

Exhaustion was making its way back into your mind and you couldn't agree more. You were also suddenly conscious of the fact you'd soiled the linens on his bed with the filth you'd acquired on your clothes. You'd also need to get clean.

"Deal," you said, standing up yourself. You were about to ask for some things to help you freshen up first, when a vaguely familiar melody reached your ears. It seemed to be coming from above in the cockpit.

"Is that music?" you asked, tilting your head to hear better. As you caught more of the tune, you realized why it was familiar. "My music."

"Oh, yeah." Boba seemed to have forgotten he'd had it playing. You both had been too caught up in your discussion, and intimacy, to have noticed until now. "Your device wasn't broken, it just needed a new power source. So I integrated it with the ship."

You couldn't help but cringe a little as you remembered some of the songs that would surely be on there. "Well please don't judge me. I haven't always had the best taste in music."

He chuckled softly. "There's some... odd songs on there. But they aren't all bad." He paused, also cocking his head slightly. "I like this one. Reminds me of you."

You both had a shy smile, not quite used to sharing such things with each other. But you were glad he was starting to open up more, showing you the little pieces of his heart and soul that he'd kept hidden for so long.

* * *

You managed to clean up well without a shower. You took your time, not wanting to strain yourself from the effort but needing to get as much dirt and blood off you as possible. It seemed like ages ago that'd you last had a shower and you wanted to get that feeling back as best you could. Boba had also given you your old clothes, cleaned and with creases from having been folded for so long. You couldn't fathom when he'd had the time to get them cleaned.

Once you felt satisfied, you emerged from the lavatory to find Boba waiting for you. He wanted to quickly patch up the cut on your cheek before you went off to bed. You let him, leaning against the counter as he worked a few stitches through it, taking the time to admire him. You still considered his features quite ordinary, but there was now a familiarity to them that gave you a different sort of fondness. You realized that while you'd seen him upset and frustrated, and in some cases angry, you'd never seen his face display the kind of rage or cruelty that people like Dryden Vos had. There was always a thoughtfulness to him, a sense of control and awareness.

The songs from your music player had continued to change, the volume low so you were only occasionally aware of it. The one that had just started now brought a small smile to your face - and a quick instruction from Boba to keep still.

"This one sounds like you," you whispered. He hesitated before smirking back, and then repeating that you really needed to be still because he was almost done.

Were you really saying these things to Boba Fett? _Feeling_ these things for him? He wasn't different than when you first knew him, there was simply more to him now. In your current, sleep-deprived state of mind, you were having a hard time wrapping your head around how quickly he'd grown on you. How easy it was for you to look at him with affection. How badly you wanted to test all the ways you could make him blush and smile....

He eventually stopped his work and tried ushering you to bed. You were already drifting off, but a small part of you still wanted to cling to him. It may have been slightly manipulative on your part, but you couldn't help but mumble out _don't leave me _just to see if he'd lie down with you.

With a resigned huff, he crawled into the bunk next to you, taking up most of the narrow space with his body. But you were already curling into his side, head in the crook of his arm, and a bandaged wrist across his chest. No sooner had you made yourself comfortable did you immediately succumb to sleep, letting yourself drift off to the sound of his heartbeat.


	24. Several Plans Later

The days passed by languidly, but not quite peacefully. There was always an edge, an anxiety in the back of your mind, reminding you this was only temporary. You were in the eye of a hurricane and it was only a matter of time before the rest of the storm hit.

It had been awkward that first day, at least from your perspective. The first thing you had remembered upon waking up was falling asleep on the chest of Boba Fett. He was no longer in the bed with you, and the thought of him having to pry himself from your clinging form at some point made you quite embarrassed. And when he'd eventually come to you, helping you up to stretch and giving you food, but only asking a few questions to gauge your pain before falling into silence, you were absolutely mortified. Had you been too bold? Was the kiss you shared even as special as you remembered? Maybe you'd thrown yourself at him in a tired delusion and now he was just trying to be polite?

But soon enough, you realized that moment had meant something to him... that you meant something to him. The time for bold declarations had passed, and now he was _showing_ you his feelings. It was subtle, but so was everything else about him.

You saw it in the way he handled you as you began to test out your strength, placing a supportive hand where needed but never preventing you from taking the steps yourself. You saw it as he let you contribute to the plans he was crafting for your meeting with the Empire. And every so often, if you were quick enough, you'd catch it in his face when he thought you weren't looking... a softness among his otherwise tense features, a slight smile in his lips, a glow in his eyes. Knowing that you alone could put him at ease gave you the spark you needed to get better.

It had now been a few weeks since, full of resting and exercising and planning. The Slave I was in deep space, far from any travel routes. Only once had he taken the ship to get supplies, another scruffy outer rim planet full of thugs and outlaws. But even there, word of Boba Fett's bounty had traveled, and a small group of bandits had tried taking you. They'd been much easier to shake off than your other hunters, but neither one of you were willing to risk coming out of space like that again.

More encouraging, however, was the progress of your recovery. Your wrists were now scarring and could be moved about with only minimal stiffness. The cut on your cheek, as well as the various bruises you'd accumulated around your body, had disappeared. And you could not only walk without limping, but you'd also began to workout at Boba's insistence. They were simple exercises, just enough to help you be agile in case another fight were to ensue. He didn't like the thought of you caught in such a struggle again, but he accepted it was a possibility and wanted you to be prepared.

You had just finished your workout for the day, settling yourself onto a crate in the cargo hold to catch your breath. This was where most of Boba's planning took place, complete with maps and diagrams strewn across the floor. Some days you found it fascinating; it was like taking a peek inside the inner workings of his mind. But other days, like today, you didn't have the patience to sit through another run-down of variables. Some questions seemed impossible to answer, you reckoned, so why not just dive in and deal with whatever happens then?

"What is this, our tenth back-up plan now?" you asked, finishing off your canteen of water.

Boba was standing across from you with arms folded, frowning at what seemed to you like a mess on the floor. He only looked up briefly with an unamused grunt.

You hadn't kissed him since that first time in his bunk. You were mostly okay with taking this new aspect of your relationship with him slowly, but it was times like this you wished you had the guts to saunter over and plant one on him, just to get him to relax a bit.

Instead, you played it safe, wanting him to make the first move when he was ready, and settled for another quip. "You should probably put your helmet back on if you're going to scowl like that. It's not nice to look at."

That seemed to do the trick. He sighed and rubbed at his face, as if trying to wipe away the worry and tension that had gathered there. "Sorry. I just... get caught up sometimes."

"I know," you shrugged. You pushed yourself further back on the crate to rest your back against the wall. "So how many more possibilities do you need to exhaust before we can actually do something? I think that first plan we came up with is fine."

He squatted down to fiddle with some of the things on the floor. "If it's fine, it isn't good enough."

You suppressed a groan and he gave you a knowing look. "What? I've gotten better now, stronger. I'm ready to go. You know I am."

"Yes, which is why these plans are important. You..." he hesitated, unsure if you'd appreciate what he had to say. "You have a tendency to leap without looking. I'm just trying to be your eyes for you and cover your back."

You opened your mouth, wanting to say something in your defense, but closed it when you couldn't think of anything. He was right.

"Also..." he started to say. He was toying with a pile of metal he'd clipped from a grate and shaped into little rings. They'd symbolized various parts of his plans, from people to ships to planets. What the pile of them was supposed to be in this plan, you weren't sure, but you watched as his fingers deftly twirled them around, waiting for him to continue.

"What?" you had to eventually urge him on. He seemed suspiciously shy all of a sudden, like he had been when he'd confessed his feelings for you.

"I know you said you're doing this for closure. But I can't help but wonder if a part of you is also wanting... revenge?"

There was weight to the word as he said it, like he understood just how poisonous and all-consuming it really was to hold onto. You'd been wrestling with the idea every day since you'd heard the Empire had invaded your home. You didn't want revenge, but you didn't _not _want it, either.

"My father was killed when I was young. Right in front of me. The man responsible was praised as a hero and I wanted nothing more than for him to meet the same fate." He shook his head, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. "I sought vengeance and was blinded by it. I trusted people who hurt me. I pushed away others who wanted to help. I wasted so much of my life."

You were surprised by his openness, realizing this was the first time you'd learned something meaningful about his past. The urge to go to him, to shower him with affection, grew stronger, but you didn't want to overwhelm him while he was so vulnerable.

"Did you do it?" you asked, matching the quietness of your voice with his. "Kill the man that killed your father?"

Boba finally let his eyes meet yours. His mouth quirked up. "No. An old friend talked me out of it."

Hondo. You nodded your head, though the fact didn't quite help you understand their weird dynamic any better.

Boba crawled closer to you. "I don't want you to get caught up in the same mistakes I did. Especially when you have other things to fight for."

He took hold of one of your bare feet, still smiling slightly.

"What are you doing?" you looked down at him, puzzled.

He still had one of the little metals rings in his hand and was now slipping it onto your toe. It wasn't exactly like the toe ring you'd mysteriously lost, but he had remembered the detail, even amongst all your bickering, and that's what made it special.

"One for your old life," he whispered, kissing the top of the foot with your gold ring. He then moved to kiss the other foot, with his new ring for you. "And one for your new life."

He shot you a shy smile, looking for you to react somehow. But you were having a hard time getting your emotions out. You wanted to blush and smile and cry and laugh all at once. So instead you sat there with your mouth slack, staring at him.

"Is this okay?" he asked, now worried.

There was only thing you could think to do. Abandoning your previous intent to take things slow, you surged forward, gripping the sides of his head and pulling his mouth to yours. You kissed him hard and fast and passionate. He was caught off guard at first, but eventually got his wits about him and kissed you back with equal fervor. It was sloppy and chaotic, but it was wonderful.

It became clear that while you had been waiting for him to make a move, he'd been doing the same, both of you unsure how to progress with such a change in relationship. But now that you'd broken past the uncertainty, you knew moments like these would be plentiful going forward.

He managed to rise slightly from the floor while keeping his lips locked with yours. He leaned into you briefly and then slid his hands under your thighs, pulling you up to rest against his hips as he stood fully. You wrapped your legs around his waist and broke the kiss for air.

Your forehead rested against his as the two of you caught your breaths. You looked into his eyes, soft and brown and beautiful. "It's more than okay," you breathed, answering the question he'd already forgotten. You laughed at the confused crease that formed in between his eyes, leaning back enough to bring your thumb up to run along it. "It's perfect."

The smile, the _grin_, he gave you made your heart skip a few beats. You kissed him again, more chaste this time, but still eager. He ate up each little peck of your lips, letting you drop to the floor so he could run his hands through your hair as well.

You pulled away again, locking your fingers behind his head. "You're right," your mouth just by his so you could feel his breath. "I have so much more to fight for."

He continued to fondly comb his fingers through the strands of your hair. You didn't realize he was such a fan of it, even when it was messy from your workout and lack of a proper shower. He leaned in to kiss your forehead.

"And you're right, too," he said, pulling your head to rest against his chest. "It's time to stop planning and actually fight now."


	25. The Exchange

The Slave I shot out of hyperspace, emerging just in front of a massive, triangular ship. Coming out of hyperspeed was always jarring, but this time it especially made your stomach leap into your throat. The might of the Empire could not be easily overlooked with such a vessel; it was no wonder they had been able to take over your planet.

"Ready?"

Boba had his armor and helmet back on, his voice coming through filtered and distant. He reached out and squeezed your hand, a reassuring gesture, but you could tell he was also steeling himself for the task at hand. Retreating back into his armor, becoming once more the aloof bounty hunter the rest of the galaxy knew him as. You wish you had some armor of your own to hide behind. Though you were ready and eager, you were also, quite frankly, scared.

"Ready as I'll ever be," you exhaled.

He let his hand linger on your yours with an intimacy that had only grown more comfortable between you in recent days. You would certainly miss it, but the hope of being with him once more, free and secure, would help keep you going.

"I'll meet you down below," he said, reluctantly letting go to steer the ship. The Empire was growing ever closer, looming in front of you, threatening to swallow you up. You didn't want to dwell, so you made your way out of the cockpit.

_Breathe in, breathe out_. You closed your eyes and tried to focus on that simple task for the next few minutes. Soon you felt the Slave I's inner gravity shifting as it laid itself down to land. When that familiar landing jolt came, you opened your eyes, staring at the ramp door with an odd mixture of dread and hope. Just outside were answers, but would they be satisfying? You had once been terrified of reaching this part, where Boba would hand you over to claim your bounty. You were still scared now the moment had come, just for different reasons.

Before your mind could spiral helplessly away, Boba clambered down beside you and began putting the old shackles on your wrists. They hurt now more than ever. Not only was there an inner soreness that would take many more weeks to heal, but you'd also had to cut back into one of the scars to implant a tracker. Boba had a personal rule against tracking devices, claiming such signals could be tracked both ways and he was too clever to ever compromise his own location. But an exception had been made for you; the risk of you disappearing was too great.

You only briefly took note of how easily you two had slipped back into old roles, he in his bounty hunting gear and you in your prisoner chains. It seemed like a lifetime ago when you'd last been like this. But then he tapped your chin gently, reminding you how far you'd truly come from being those people.

"Remember the plan," he said softly. "And good luck."

"See you soon," you whispered.

The ramp began to lower, letting in bright, florescent light. You were in a hangar much larger than the one on Crimson Dawn's ship. A row of stormtroopers were lined up on either side, and in the middle waiting was the Imperial Commander you'd once encountered, Orson Krennic.

Boba grabbed your upper arm roughly and pulled you after him down the ramp. You could see in your periphery he had his gun out, laying casually against his chest but pointed in your direction. You tried to keep your head down as he led you along, but it was difficult not to let your gaze wander around the vast room in curiosity.

"Boba Fett," said Krennic as you approached. He sounded even more condescending than he had before. "I dare say, I was surprised to receive your transmission this morning. Did your mysterious other deal fall through?"

Boba stopped a few feet short of the Commander, still firmly holding onto you. "Too much trouble," was all he said.

Krennic chuckled. "So it would seem. Yes, I've heard all about your entanglements with Crimson Dawn. Fighting like children over this bounty. Though I had hoped you'd be the one to eventually bring her in. I never did like Vos, the arrogant prick."

There was silence and Krennic seemed annoyed that Boba didn't want to comment and keep the conversation going. He stepped forward, but Boba jerked you closer toward him, the barrel of his gun digging into your shoulder.

"Payment first," he stated.

Krennic _tut_-ed and motioned to a droid standing off the side. It plodded over, carrying a case, which it opened to show Boba.

"One million, divided between Imperial credits and peggats, per your request."

Boba nodded at the droid, satisfied with the currency. He pushed you forward slightly, making room to grab the case. "She's all yours."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Fett," Krennic drawled.

A pair of stormtroopers came up on either side of you as Boba went back to the Slave I. In a few moments, the ship was flying out of the hangar, back out amongst the stars. You turned in time to watch it disappear into hyperspace.

And just like that, he was gone.

This was the part of the plan that had taken the longest to sort out; you two had stayed up late several nights arguing back and forth how to best handle it. The Empire couldn't have any suspicion that Boba would still be invested in you after the handoff, and yet, he hated the idea of having to return later to break you out, or track you if they chose to take you elsewhere. Each moment you were with them brought the threat of harm, and who knew if he could reach you in time?

One of the stormtroopers started removing your shackles, much to your surprise. Krennic looked over at you with a sort of smug grin that made you sense he knew exactly what you wanted to know but was having too much fun to tell you.

"Trouble, trouble," he said, coming closer. "That's all I've heard about you, young lady. I was beginning to think it wasn't worth it for us, either. But patience always wins out in the end. Doesn't it?"

He took your hands in his, examining the scars and scabs along your wrists. He squinted up at your face, assessing what other signs of mistreatment might be there. You'd had time to heal, sure, but you still hadn't properly showered, and there had been many sleepless nights while you fretted over plans with Boba. You knew it was enough to fool him into thinking you'd been a prisoner all along.

"Take her for inspection," he finally said, gesturing at the soldiers next to you. "Bring her to my office when you're done."

The inspection wasn't as invasive as you'd feared. In fact, it more refreshing than anything. You were made to disrobe by a protocol droid before being sent through a quick rinse of soap and water. New clothes were given to you, a stiff blue jumpsuit with an Imperial logo stitched on the front, and the droid even wrapped some bandaging around the one wrist you'd re-aggravated for the tracker. There was another tracker, inside the former case of your music player that you'd put in your back pocket. The device was predictably discovered by the droid, who then passed it along to the stormtrooper that came to collect you.

Krennic welcomed you into his office, which looked more like a conference room, with a long table extending down the middle, windowless walls with florescent lighting emitting from along its border, and a small bar area in one corner where Krennic was presently pouring a drink. The stormtrooper handed him your music player before exiting, leaving you to stand awkwardly by yourself.

"Sit." It was more of an invitation than command. Krennic set his drink down and pulled out a chair, and that's when you noticed the plates of food in front of his seat and the one he was offering you.

You slowly lowered yourself in the chair, staring at him, not sure what to make of all this. You'd rehearsed over and over in your head all the things you wanted to say in this moment, but now you were at a loss. Was this a show, meant to give you a false sense of security? Or did the Empire want you for other reasons, not to be a prisoner, but something else?

You cleared your throat and forced out some questions. "So... what exactly do you want with me? Why the high bounty?"

Krennic chuckled as he looked at you over the rim of his glass. "Oh, you'll see soon enough."

_See_? What could he possibly have to _show_ you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to formally acknowledge and thank you all for the comments throughout this story. There's nothing more encouraging than hearing how each chapter is making people feel. This is the first time I've written and published fanfic, so thank you for showing me how fun it is share stories with others! <3


	26. You'll See (Reprise)

The perplexed look on your face made Krennic laugh some more. He was having entirely too much fun, reveling in your confusion, and it was starting to piss you off. You were about to abandon your plan of being cooperative so you could indulge in yelling at this man instead, but he spoke before you could.

"In the meantime," he said, nodding at the food in front of you, "have a bite to eat. I'm sure these bounty hunters don't serve proper meals to their quarry."

You looked down at your plate full of colorful vegetables and meat and bread and silently agreed; you hadn't had a proper meal in long time. Boba only kept rations on his ship that were meant to be purely nutritional but tasted rather like cardboard. Your stomach gave an involuntary growl, and having no reason to believe the Empire would want to poison you after all the trouble to capture you, you went ahead and dug in.

It was only after you'd cleaned half the plate did Krennic speak to you again. He was nibbling at his own food, but seemed much more interested in your music player.

"Curious device." He turned it over on the table beside him, rubbing his fingers over the stickers on the back. "What is it?"

"It just plays music," you explained between bites. "Or at least it did. Doesn't work anymore."

"And it's yours?"

You nodded your head. "Boba took me to meet the other buyer but found it there instead. It was really weird. I packed that old thing away years ago. I don't know how that guy got it, whoever he is."

You'd decided with Boba there would be no harm in giving out the details of your failed quest to find the other buyer; it would only help sell Boba's choice to turn you into the Empire. You did, however, exclude the parts about Maz, not wanting to drag her further into this mess.

Krennic was looking at you through squinted eyes. "So you don't know who placed the other bounty on you?"

"No," you said with a slightly dramatic sigh. "Like I've told literally everyone that's been after me, I don't know who the guy is. I don't know why he wants me, or how he got my stuff. I also don't know why _you_ want me so bad, either."

You looked back at Krennic with a pointed expression, hoping this would segue into the conversation where you finally got some answers, the one you'd come here for. But Krennic's interest seemed to have now wandered elsewhere. He stared at the music player for a bit before placing it in a pocket along his belt and going for another swig of his drink.

You cursed internally. It had been a long shot, bringing that device with you. Boba had warned you it'd probably be confiscated but you'd hoped that maybe Krennic would let you be sentimental and hold onto it anyway. Not only had Boba replaced the inner workings with a tracker, but he'd also programmed the signal so that if you selected a song, it would play it aboard the Slave I. There was a song to let him know you were okay, one for when you were ready to be extracted, one if there was an emergency.... If you weren't able to play him anything by tonight, then he would only wait one more day before coming for you, regardless of whether you'd found your answers or not.

The door suddenly opened from behind, letting in a stormtrooper.

"We've arrived, sir."

Krennic nodded knowingly, dabbing at his mouth with a cloth napkin. "Take her down. I'll meet with them shortly."

_Them_. You gulped at the word, your mind racing between countless possibilities. Were there other prisoners you were being taken to? Did the Empire want you to work on something and you were going to meet your new coworkers? Did Krennic have a boss who'd be interrogating you instead - perhaps the Emperor himself? Or maybe you'd be walked out onto a stage with your friends and family, and told this was some elaborate game show and that everything you'd experienced the last couple of months was only to test your grit on live television? At this point, no idea was too far fetched for you to believe.

You were, however, secretly relieved that you were being taken elsewhere, rather than staying on this Imperial ship. It meant Boba wouldn't have to enact back-up plans #4-7 to get you out. You hadn't realized the ship had been flying this whole time, not being near any windows or having felt any of the usual movements that came from being in a smaller vessel. You were ushered into a shuttle, and it was an odd experience to then fly down toward this new planet. It was like the Imperial ship was a mini planet of its own.

"Where are we?" you braved asking the stormtroopers around you. There were three, one of them in darker armor than the others, and it was this one who answered you.

"Eadu," was all it said. As if the name alone told you enough.

The planet only had a faint blue hue to it, otherwise you couldn't distinguish any land or water features from the small shuttle window. Once you broke through the atmosphere, you realized it was due to the thick, tumultuous layer of storm clouds that blanketed everything. The shuttle shook and jerked as it moved through, the internal lights flickering spastically. The troopers around you didn't seem perturbed so you tried not to be worried, either, despite it seeming like you would surely crash or be electrocuted by lightning.

At last the shuttle made it through, pulling up abruptly at a landing platform in front of a complex built into the side of a jagged stone ridge, one of many that jutted up across the planet's surface. It was dark as you were ushered out onto the platform, only a few flood lights lit the way toward the facility doors. The air was thick with mist and a few sprinkles of rain began tickling your skin as you walked along. It also stunk, like soil and sulfur mixed together.

You inherently picked up your pace, not sure what was waiting for you on the other side of the doors, but needing to get away from this stinky, damp air. The darkly clad trooper swiped at a keypad and led you inside, the two other troopers flanking you just behind. The facility's interior was as stark and cold as the Imperial ship, lit with the same harsh fluorescent lights. You passed several other people as you followed the winding hallway. A few were in dark green military uniforms with smart looking hats. Others wore more plastic-y looking suits, almost like lab coats. They all looked at you curiously as you passed but did not interact.

The dark trooper eventually pulled up at a door on the side of the hall. It swiped at another keypad, the door swooshing open with a soft hiss. It stood to the side, indicating you should enter.

"The Commander will be with you shortly," it said.

You went inside, assuming this was like a waiting room until Krennic showed up. It was a moderately sized space, like a little apartment, with simple furnishings and supplies. You rounded a corner to get a better look at everything, to maybe see if there was a clue about what the Empire wanted with you. But you stopped dead in your tracks when you saw there was someone else in the room, too.

Every function in your body seemed to freeze. You couldn't feel your heart beating, couldn't feel yourself take any breaths. You weren't sure if there really was a deafening silence in the room or if you simply couldn't hear any sounds in your shock. Time seemed to stand still as you struggled to process the woman standing before you. You weren't sure you could speak, but you needed to acknowledge her, you needed to know she was real. So after a few beats, you choked the word out, a forced and hollow whisper.

"Mom?"


	27. Questions and Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to alienate any readers who may not have parents or a good relationship with them... So please picture whomever you like in these roles, whether it be other family members, motherly/fatherly friends, or other characters you'd want to stand in. :)

Your legs had moved before you had fully processed what they were running toward. You embraced your mother, one of many loved ones you'd never thought you'd see again, in the little room on the strange planet you'd been brought to by the Empire. You would've cried had you not been so utterly dumfounded.

"Mom?" you whispered again, pulling away from her grasp to get a good look at her. She had tears in her eyes and was stroking your hair, also in disbelief over your presence. She looked as well as she'd ever been. Healthy. No signs of abuse or neglect. She even had a bit of make-up on, now smudged a little in the corner of one watery eye. She also wore one of those white suits you'd seen earlier, with an Imperial insignia that matched the one stitched on your jumper.

"I'm so glad you're alive," she said through her tears, cooing your name and bringing you in for another hug.

You stiffened in her arms, still not able to fully relish the moment with so many questions on your mind. You'd come looking for answers and were met with more confusion than ever. You'd had enough.

"Mom," you said firmly, pulling back and holding her at arm's length. "What is going on? How... _why_ are you here?"

She wrapped her hands around to grasp yours, giving them a squeeze as she looked at you sympathetically. "It's a long story, hun."

"I have time."

Her face faltered in its relief as she now took in your features. Your even gaze, the seriousness of your voice. Your disheveled hair and the bags beneath your eyes. The tension you'd held in your shoulders for months. She looked at you the way she'd had whenever you'd been sick, or had had a bad day at school, or when you'd come home crying from your first rejected crush... Wanting to help you, to heal you, but knowing there was only so much even a mother could do.

"Very well," she smiled, motioning to a little sofa nearby. "We should sit. Would you like some tea or...?"

"No." You wanted answers.

She nodded knowingly and joined you on the sofa, sitting just close enough that she could reach back out for you should you want her to. She ran her aging hands across her face, through her hair, sighing. "Where to begin."

"Did the Empire take you when they invaded home?" you asked, too impatient to not help her start _somewhere_.

She gave you a rueful smile. "That depends. Which invasion are you referring to?"

You gulped and kept your eyes trained on her, not wanting to miss a single detail as she eventually leaned onto the backrest of the couch and launched into her story.

"The Empire claimed our planet a long time ago, when you were very young. We didn't have resources, we weren't in a strategic location for them... but we did have people, very bright people who were more than willing to work with this new group if it meant access to advanced technology. It was all behind the scenes. The Empire didn't have the strength to conquer through force yet, and our leaders didn't want the masses to be aware of other systems. Your dad and I... We got caught up in it by accident. They were mostly recruiting scientists, engineers, medical researchers.... But they also needed other support positions filled, too. We knew some people... We were struggling with loans... It just... happened."

Your mom sighed and ran another hand over her face, showing that despite her healthy appearance, the situation had taken its toll on her deep within. A part of you did want to embrace her again, but you also didn't want to get distracted. Krennic would be coming at any time; you needed to get as much of the story as you could before then.

"We ended up supporting projects around hyperspeed technology, which then turned into experiments with teleportation."

"The portals," you muttered.

She nodded slowly, her eyes far off as she looked into the past. "Dad and I weren't developing the technology ourselves, but we became very close with the scientists that were. We knew they could easily program the destinations and pick the people they wanted to move. But the Empire was growing stronger. There were threats of attack and even war. Other divisions would finish their work and then mysteriously disappear. Our scientist friends were scared to admit they'd succeeded. So they lied, said it would take time to figure out how to control it."

Your mom gulped, her hands wringing together in her lap. You could tell her voice was dry. "And then we came up with a plan. It was... difficult... But we didn't have many other options. We... We used the technology to get certain people to safety. But we had to keep up the appearance that it was random so... well, we couldn't save everyone."

She hung her head, as if in shame. Your stomach twisted. "One of us would pick someone from our family and send them to a random planet. And then we'd move some random people around other parts of the galaxy for a while. And then another would get to save someone from their family. Bounty hunters were hired to go collect them and take to a safe house. The decisions they had to make... who to chose, who to save...."

She trailed off, but only momentarily. "By the time it was our turn, one of the supervisors had caught on. Orson Krennic. He had been planning to shut down the department. The portal technology used up too many resources and there was more promise with some of his other projects. But when he found out it could be controlled, he struck a deal. He'd take us all, with our families, to this planet, Eadu, where we'd be spared from the impending attack on our home. We just had to share the codes to control the portals."

Your mom shook her head again, still avoiding eye contact. "We agreed, and your dad was sent to Eadu with some of the others for the first trip. The rest of us would be taken later. But then one night I got a message from him saying Krennic had gone back on his word, and that he had an opportunity to open one last portal before fleeing with the codes. We--"

She stopped short. A tear trickled down her cheek, pooling at her chin for a moment before she furiously wiped it away. She took in a deep breath and shook her head, trying to cast off the obvious guilt and grief. "We wanted to save everyone, all the people we loved. But we also knew there was going to be a war. We had to save others, people who could fight and stand up for our planet. It was the most difficult decision we ever had to make. But I told him to just take you, that I would find a way to get the others off the planet.

"After you disappeared, Krennic's soldiers came for me. They wanted to know where your dad went, how to recreate the codes he stole. I told them I could recreate part of it from memory, but only if they spared the rest of the family. They brought me here, and I honored the agreement, but I only knew so much. All the other scientists had chosen to be killed rather than give away their secrets. And in the meantime, the others that had gone through the portal with you were able to go back and sneak thousands of people off the planet. It sounded like the rest of our family made it out, but they won't give me details. All I know is Krennic's been trying like crazy to capture you, hoping it will flush your dad out of hiding with the codes. I figured that meant the others ended up in hiding too, or... well... you know...."

There was silence as you let everything sink in. Your mom took in a few more breaths to calm her nerves, trying for a smile as she finally looked up at you. "Don't get me wrong, I am so, _so happy_ to see you alive and safe. But I'd been praying they wouldn't find you, that our bounty would've been enough to get you to your father instead of me...."

"Bounty?" you asked, discovering your voice was as dry as hers.

Your mom nodded. "We'd already done our research, so when it would finally be our turn to send someone, we'd have the best bounty hunter keeping them safe. But when your dad contacted me for our final plan, to send you, we knew the Empire could easily raise the price and have the guy turn you into them instead. So your dad set a bounty higher than we thought they could match. He gave all of our savings to the bounty hunter Boba Fett and told him it was an advancement. He said he'd figure out how to get you away from Fett later, all that mattered was just getting you off the planet. Krennic was furious when he found out, but then he kept talking about going after you, and I knew it meant Fett hadn't succeeded in getting you to your dad."

"No," you rasped, your voice sounding distant. "He didn't know where to find him. The transmission was cut off."

Your mom bowed her head knowingly. "He must have run into trouble. But the fact they've still be trying to get you means he's still out there somewhere."

You felt yourself standing up, pacing about the room slowly, but not really comprehending your own actions. Your mind was reeling, going through all the information over and over again in an effort to make sense of it... to _accept_ it.

The buyer, the mysterious and wealthy person you'd been searching for, was your dad. He was out there, hiding, protecting the galaxy from a piece of technology the Empire would surely use for only more destruction and power. And your mom was just as much a part of that effort, doing what she could to quietly protect her family. Your planet had fallen to the Empire, but its people carried on elsewhere. Your family could very well be among them.

You weren't sure how to feel. You allowed a few tears to well in your eyes, but they stung. You wanted to be relieved, to bask in the sensation of finally knowing the truth. You wanted to feel free from the worry and fear that you were being hunted for no reason. And you supposed you did feel those things, but there was something else, too. Something you couldn't quite understand.

The sound of your name broke through your heavy thoughts. You looked over at your mom as she addressed you, preparing to say something else. Possibly a comforting word, or maybe a few questions of her own. But she wasn't able to get it out, not before you heard the door open and saw Orson Krennic emerge from the hall behind you.

"Done catching up?" he asked with a sly quirk of his mouth. "Good. Let's see if we can't get your father to join the reunion."


	28. The Last Plan

"One more," he'd whispered in your ear, late on your last night with him. You'd been curled up at his side, as you always did before drifting off to sleep, though he'd never be there when you woke. You'd groaned but kept your eyes shut.

"Last one, I promise," he whispered. "A final back-up, if everything else fails and we're desperate. It'd be risky, and messy, but it'd be a last resort. Our last hope."

You'd only hummed in response as Boba had explained his idea, on the verge of a sleep you'd never thought would come in all your nervousness. But you remembered it clearly now, repeating his words in your mind a few times as you were led down a never-ending corridor by Commander Krennic.

There were other options, plans you'd worked hard on, accounting for all the variables you could think of. Plans to get messages to Boba, plans for him to pick you up, plans to hide safely for a time.... You'd covered so many variables, even a few crazy ones that did not seem likely. But none of them fit a scenario where you'd find your mother.

Except for the last plan.

There was a song that, if you could somehow manage to get ahold of your music player and play it for Boba in the Slave I, would signal him to send out a message. It'd be unencrypted, easy to stumble upon, sent to someone like Hondo who would also not be able to keep his mouth shut. He'd pretend to have found the other buyer and that the price had risen even more than 5 million. And he'd give the coordinates of your location with the Empire, pinging back to him from the tracker in your arm.

Any decent bounty hunter, pirate, or entrepreneur would be monitoring intergalactic chatter... and they would all immediately come after you. They wouldn't be able to resist such a payload, Boba had insisted, even if it meant crossing the Empire. Krennic and his soldiers would be overwhelmed by the onslaught and unable to pick a single person to blame in the aftermath. He could come for you without secrecy, amongst all the other hunters. It'd be chaotic, but he was certain he could take you before anyone else could.

The only problem would be stopping them all from continuing to hunt you. But that's why it was a last-ditch-effort, Boba had said just as you finally succumbed to sleep; it would be a risk reserved only for the most desperate of situations.

Krennic turned a corner, you and your mother following just behind. This may not have been what Boba had in mind as a _desperate _situation, but you were definitely on the verge of panic. Your mom being here changed everything. What would happen when Krennic realized you knew nothing of your father's whereabouts? You had to make sure she got out safely, too.

The Commander led you into a large room with monitors and a mess of equipment in the corners. Science-y looking people milled about, halting their work as soon as Krennic entered with you in tow. You looked a few in the eyes, trying to tell if they were truly loyal to the Empire, or prisoners like your mom.

"What a day, friends," he said as he swept across the room dramatically. The stormtroopers that had been flanking him stopped in the middle of the room, and you and your mom followed suit. "Your colleagues on the other side of the ravine made some wonderful progress today with their lasers, and now you all will soon be able to resume your work with the teleportation device."

He spun to face you and your mom, clasping his hands in front of him with a smirk. "That is, if you all cooperate."

There was murmuring, and your mom shifted nervously beside you, but you were much too occupied with trying to find a way to kick off your own plans. Thankfully, you didn't have to search long. Krennic pulled your music player from his pocket, shaking it in the air a few times to draw attention to it.

"Our analysts here have ways to dissect this device," he said in just a slightly lower voice, indicating his words were more for the two of you now. "But I thought I'd give you a chance to save us all the trouble. This was left by your husband for the bounty hunter you'd hired. It's a way to find him, isn't it?"

Your mom squinted and Krennic took a few steps closer. "What is that? Your old music player?" She looked at you, truly perplexed. You gave her a small nod, needing her to fill up a bit more of Krennic's time while you came up with an idea.

"I... I don't know why he'd have _that_. I mean, I knew he grabbed some old things in the attic before leaving, but I thought he was being sentimental. I didn't think something like that would matter to him... Maybe it was just a way to let her know her dad looking for her? Like a little clue?"

As predicted, your mom had rambled just long enough, and now you knew how you could spin this in your favor. You cleared your throat, trying to act sheepish and not like you were up to something.

"Actually, I think you're right, sir." You could feel numerous pairs of eyes staring at you. "Now that I know what's really been going on, it makes sense. The thing isn't broken, it just plays the music somewhere else. Where he is. It wasn't a clue for me to find him; it was his way of trying to find me."

You took a hesitant step forward, reaching out for the device. Krennic considered you for a moment before handing it over. It took all your self-control not to let your hands shake from this small victory.

"Once you hit play, it should activate a signal, like a homing beacon." You scrolled around the list of songs, making a show of picking one at random, while really settling on the one that would initiate your plan.

Krennic was now squinting his eyes, and you feared he might be getting suspicious. You gulped and tried to make yourself seem smaller. You were just a little nobody who didn't ask to be caught up in any of this and was now trying to stay on the good side of your captors. It wasn't far from the truth.

"Or at least, I think that's what he'd do with it."

"Yes," you were surprised to hear your mom say. Her voice was small, too, and you knew she was playing along. "I... remember there were similar ideas for secret communication with the scientists he worked with. Yes... that would make sense...."

Whatever doubts Krennic may have had seemed to disappear. He straightened up and snatched the device back from you.

"Good, good. I knew you had some usefulness yet, girl." He inspected the little screen that showed your chosen song playing. You wished you could know for sure Boba had heard it.

"So since it is on and playing, your husband will be learning that his daughter ended up with us here now, on Eadu?"

Your mom nodded, and you bobbed your head along, too.

"Well, signals can be traced both ways. Even if he's not brave enough to finally come out of hiding and surrender with the rest of his family, we can find him."

He tossed the device to the nearest person in a white coat, giving them a nod as their order to start examining it. You knew Boba would have turned off the transmitter by now, especially upon hearing _that_ song, but you were still nervous. What if there was a tiny detail that gave you away?

"Take them out," Krennic waved a dismissive hand at the stormtroopers. But then held up a finger. "Actually, put the girl in one of the lower level rooms."

Your mom started to protest as the stormtroopers grabbed each of your arms and began to pull you in opposite directions.

"Orson, please. I haven't seen her in months...."

"Your family has caused enough headaches to last me a lifetime. I won't have you conspiring and making even more trouble. You'll stay isolated in your rooms until we finally get our hands on your husband and the codes. Then we'll discuss how to best bring you all to justice."

Krennic was already walking away by the time he finished, his lisp coming through on the last word. You tried to give your mom a reassuring look to calm her worries, but it was too subtle. She disappeared the way you'd came while you were moved through a different door, looking as old and distraught as you'd ever seen her.

That wouldn't be the last time you'd see her, you told yourself. The plan you'd just put in motion was crazy, but it was for her. And your dad. And every other loved one who might still be out there. Everything they had done for you, to save you, you resolved to pay back.


	29. Old Friends, New Enemies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the beginning of the end...  
These last few chapters will be a little longer than normal because I didn't want anything to be rushed.

You had no way of tracking time in the dank, windowless room the Empire had set you up in, but you knew it'd been less than a day. Less than a day, and already they had come.

Boba hadn't been kidding when he'd warned of things getting messy. There was chaos everywhere as the place changed from a research facility to a military bunker on high alert. Sirens blared and radios went off and all personnel from stormtroopers to scientists ran anxiously to and fro. Instructions rang out from the intercom speakers, directing squadrons toward certain entrances or dispatching fleets to drive away those who hadn't yet landed.

You had eventually been dragged out of your room by a pair of dark troopers, intending to take you to a safe room elsewhere. But you were soon stopped by a bounty hunter who'd already made its way inside. It was a robot of some kind, though not like one you'd ever seen before, with a cylinder-shaped head and a stick-figure-like body that spun around as it took out everyone in the corridor but you.

Instead, it shot out a fiber cable, pinning your arms to your sides. And then it clamped one of its hands around the back of your neck, firmly enough where you didn't try to fight back, and guided you toward the lift to the upper level.

As soon as the lift doors opened, though, you were met by a pair of masked, black-clad hunters. You only had enough time to register them as the ones who'd attacked you in Maz's palace, the mercenaries from Crimson Dawn, before the droid pushed you away from the doors and the blaster fight that ensued between them. You stumbled onto the ground and found it difficult to get yourself back up without the use of your arms. By the time you did get on your feet, the mercenaries had overtaken the droid, its metallic body short-circuiting on the floor beside you. One of them grabbed you and hauled you into the lift.

It went on like this for some time. Once the lift brought you to the ground floor, there were more hunters waiting. A fight would break out, and the new hunter would take down the old one, and you'd be moved a bit further through the facility before someone else showed up. There were droids, dark troopers, a man who looked like a lizard.... Some were knocked out, others merely distracted, and even more actually killed.

It was like a game to them, a challenge to see who was truly the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. But it was one you quickly realized you didn't have to worry about being a part of. Despite the violence, you were being kept safe. Each hunter's first move was to protect you. Each one was careful not to let their attacks of the others stray toward you. So you let them take you around, like a baton being passed in a relay race. And with each new exchange-of-hands, you hoped the next one would be to Boba Fett.

You didn't have to wonder if that moment would come for long. A song started playing over the intercom speakers in the facility, cutting off an announcement that technology and experiments would soon be evacuated. It was the song you had played for him, to let him know of the need for this crazy plan. He was here.

You were rounding a corner with your current captor, a burly thug you vaguely recognized as having hunted you back when you first came through the portal. As expected, others were waiting. This time, a duo who had the same tanned, wrinkly features, one slightly taller with a braided pony tail, and the other wearing goggles and holding a really big gun.

The gun fired and the thug fell beside you on the ground with a thud. The shooter grinned at you.

"Little missy!" he shouted above the music, handing the gun over to his partner and throwing his arms wide. "It's been too long since I saw your pretty face!"

"Hondo," you said with a sigh that was equal parts relief and disappointment. You looked down at the gaping hole that sizzled in the dead hunter's stomach. "That's quite the weapon."

"As I always say, speak softly and carry a big gun."

His friend snorted. "I thought it was drive a big tank?"

Hondo _tut_-ed. "Oh same difference, Quadoro. Anyway, it's courtesy of a really lovely woman we just met. Helped show us around. Had a real can-do attitude. Reminded me of a little lady I know..."

"Mom," you responded to the knowing look he gave you.

"Sounds like you might have stories to share with me now, eh kid?" Hondo smirked.

"Where is she?"

He beckoned you forward. "Just down here. We secured ourselves in a weapons room--"

"Experimental weapons," Quadoro clarified, undoing the cables still tied around your body as you went with them down the corridor.

"Yes, yes. It was fairly easy to identify you on the monitor, so as soon as you got to the hallway we came out for you."

You arrived at the room in question, the door swooshing open to let you in and promptly swooshing back shut behind you. Quadoro fired a round from the big gun at the control panel to prevent it from being reopened.

"Hey, careful!" Hondo snapped. "There's only so much charge in that thing! We might need it later!"

"It's just on the lowest setting."

"Exactly my point! What if we want to use the missile setting but you've already drained it from doing crap like this?"

You tuned out their bickering as you took in your surroundings. There were shelves and grates all around the white walls, stacked with firearms, grenades, and plenty of other devices you couldn't recognize but could only guess at their purpose. There were a few other doorways around the room, too, leading to further storage closets or hallways to other parts of the facility.

You could see a woman moving about in one of the closets. Your mom. You were about to make your way toward her when a particularly dramatic part of your song blared over the speakers, making Hondo laugh.

"What great music. I wasn't sure when Boba told us to hook that mess of cables up to the comms. Thought it was a waste of time given the circumstances, you know? But I like it. Adds some _style_."

"Boba?" you stopped to ask. "He's with you? He's here?"

"We ran into him after we landed but then split up. He's around somewhere...."

As if on cue, the door to another hallway on the other side of the room opened. There were sounds of a firefight beyond before a familiar green helmet entered, shooting behind him. Hondo and Quadoro moved in front of you with weapons drawn before they also recognized the hunter. When the threat in the hall was finally taken care of, the hunter closed the door and finally turned to face you all.

You couldn't help yourself; you ran around the pirates and threw yourself at Boba, awkwardly wrapping your arms around his armor and jetpack. He returned the embrace, but only briefly, pulling you back to inspect you for injuries.

"I'm fine," you insisted. He nodded reluctantly but still seemed on edge. You couldn't blame him. He had no idea what was really going on, only that things had become bad enough to alert every bounty hunter to your location.

As if reading your mind, he grumbled, "I hate this song. Gave me a heart attack when I heard it."

Though you'd had a reason to play it, and no other choice really, you still couldn't help but feel some guilt. Before you could even begin to explain some of what had learned, your mom popped out of the little closet, carrying what looked to be a box explosives. She didn't seem to notice you yet.

"This is a great song, Hondo," she said. "A real classic."

Hondo motioned over to you. "Look who made their way to us. Guess we don't need to storm that basement after all."

Your mom smiled at you, relief evident in her features. "Hi hun. I wasn't sure what you were planning with that music player... and it is a little crazy... but I'm glad you're okay."

You gulped and reached for Boba's hand, bringing the stiff bounty hunter forward to meet her. His rough gloves scratched against your skin, but he allowed his fingers to wrap around yours, trusting you.

"Boba," you said softly. "This is my mom."

His expression was hidden beneath the helmet, but you didn't need to see it to know what it was. You knew exactly to what degree his frown lines would be, how his eyes would be solemn and his lips would struggle to remain relaxed and neutral. You knew he was happy for you, but sad for what it could mean for him.

Your mom's face, on the other hand, was emoting quite openly. She looked between the two of you with wide eyes and you could almost see her mind putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Eventually she relaxed a little and addressed him warmly.

"So you're the one we hired to collect our daughter."

You weren't sure how much of that sentence Boba was able to unpack right away. But he nodded his head respectfully and replied, "I guess I am. Pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you for protecting her," she smiled.

Hondo cleared his throat for attention. "Uh, I hate to break up this special meeting, but we should probably work on an escape plan before it's too late?"

Your mom nodded and set down her box, pulling out a small, handheld monitor from her belt and holding it out so you could all gather around. It was a heat map, similar to one you'd used before. Little dots moved all about. There was already a small cluster making its way toward the weapons room. You'd have maybe five minutes before they showed up.

"Unfortunately there aren't many options on this side of the facility," your mom said. She pointed to an outdoor spot just outside the hallway Boba had come from. "Just this platform here, but there won't be any transports. The portal generator is built into the cliffside just beside it, so it's technically a no-fly zone."

"My ship is in a fissure just here," Boba said, also pointing at the map. "It'll take a few trips to fly everyone over with my jetpack, though. I'm sorry, if I'd known I'd be saving multiple people..."

His quiet tone broke your heart. His really did feel remorseful, despite having had no way to know any different.

"Oh don't worry about us," Hondo spoke up, clapping his friend on the back. "We thought it'd be easy to collect the bounty on little missy here, but now we know there is none, we'll make sure she gets out safe. The Empire clipped our ship on the way in, but we can fight our way to some other transports. We'll add some distractions along the way."

"You can use this bay here," your mom offered. "They'll be using those pods to evacuate the experiments. Should make it easy to fly out under the radar."

"Perfect," Hondo grinned. "We'll start with the hooligans coming up the corridor."

The duo marched off to the hallway, Quadoro starting to hoist his big gun on his shoulder dramatically until Hondo snapped that he should really get something more practical. The pirate huffed and let it fall onto a nearby shelf before grabbing a smaller gun. They both gave you a salute before disappearing down the hall.

"I'm guessing you can only carry one at a time?" your mom asked in their wake. Boba nodded.

"So two trips, then..." she mused. Her finger glided over the screen where Boba had pointed out his ship earlier. It was black, with no features to distinguish the crags and dips of the terrain. But your mom seemed to be visualizing it in her head. You realized with a pang of sadness that while you had been traveling around the galaxy, she had been here, stuck in a sterile facility on a gloomy planet with devious people.

"There's a large air vent in that closet," she finally said, thumbing behind her. "It'll spit out down in the ravine... I'm just not sure where...."

"Good enough," Boba nodded again. "Even if it's not close to the ship, it'll provide protection for one of you while I take the other to it."

"Agreed," your mom said, leading you toward the vent in question.

"My helmet was reading high chemical levels in the air when I was outside. Will that be a problem?" Boba asked as he bolted the closet door shut from the inside. Ever thinking ahead, as always.

"Oh..." your mom sighed, though more in annoyance. "Yes, they emit from the ravines. The Empire's dug deep for their experiments, more so out here since this division's work has been the least productive."

She pulled some gas masks off a nearby hook and held one out to you. "It's only toxic when the lightning storms pass over. These masks will filter it until we can get to the ship."

You went ahead and strapped on the mask, trying not to think about how silly it probably made you look. You then helped Boba remove the grate from the vent in the floor. You could see the square metal shaft only descend down a short ways before branching horizontally away.

"I'll go first," you mom volunteered. Her mask hid her expression but the sheepishness was evident in her voice. "I'm claustrophobic."

She dropped down and began crawling away hastily. Boba nodded at you to go next. As you started crawling, you could hear him slide down behind you and move the grate back into place.

It was a very quick crawl. There was one grate along the way with a filter caked in dirt. Your mom pushed the flimsy thing aside and continued to lead you down the shaft. Even through the gas mask, you could tell you were getting closer to the outside. There was that same sulfuric smell you'd gotten a whiff of when you'd first landed, only much more potent in the dampened air.

Eventually your mom was kicking at the outside grate, the piece of metal clattering away. There was an outcropping of the cliffside just below that she climbed out onto. You joined her, blinking up at the darkened sky as little droplets of rain hit your exposed skin. It was a light rain, but consistent.

"Do you know where to go from here?" your mom asked as Boba clambered out of the vent behind you.

He flipped open the panel on his wrist cuff, using some kind of scanner to locate his ship. But then there was a noise, like a group of people shouting. He snapped it shut and peered around the edge of the cliffside, you and your mom sneaking a peek from behind him. The vent had only sent you right alongside the platform, the one that sat just below the portal generator. A group of bounty hunters had made their way onto it, using their own scanners to look around. Either your pirate friends hadn't succeeded in distracting the group from before, or this was a new party who'd come from elsewhere.

The three of you each uttered your own curse word. This was not good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking of doing a "bonus" chapter after I finish the story, where I write a previous scene from Boba's perspective. Anyone interested? Let me know which scene you'd like to see!


	30. Fire Away

"Should be just out here!" one of the bounty hunters called to the others, standing on the edge of the platform and pointing almost directly at you. You all jumped to hide back around the corner, but not quickly enough.

"There! I saw something! In the ravine!" You recognized the voice but couldn't immediately place its owner.

Boba grabbed your wrist and you looked at him in confusion.

"The tracker," he swore, bringing out a pocket knife and flicking it open beside your skin. "I knew it was a risk."

You didn't have time to steel yourself before he cut into your flesh and dug the tiny device out. He flung it into the ravine and then tore part of his cape off to tie tightly around your wrist and stop the bleeding. You could hear the voices from the platform carrying over in the wind that was picking up, seeing what they believed to be you descending into the ravine on their monitors, before realizing it was probably a trick.

Your mom was frazzled, her eyes wide behind her mask, hands trembling as she inspected her own little monitor. There were nine heat signatures on the platform, three of them peeling off to investigate the room inside, to find a way down into the ravine after you. Maybe they wouldn't find the closet with the vent; maybe they would....

Boba was tense as usual, but you could also sense a level of panic in him as well. Though it had been a quick series of events, it had been just enough time for you to think things through.

Not too long ago, Maz had told you she'd felt the end of your journey coming, and now you felt it, too. It was here. You had come for answers, but a part of you had hoped to also find a way to put an end to it all. To the running and the hiding and the fear. In about as much time as it had taken you to go through that portal all those months ago, you had now made a decision of your own. If you succeeded, you would not only free yourself from ever being hunted again, but also your family.

"Take my mom," you said through your mask before either of them could begin to strategize. You gripped Boba's arm forcefully, looking at him with pleading eyes. He predictably shook his head, and your mom started to protest as well, but you waved them all off.

"_Take her first_," you stated with a fierceness you didn't know you possessed.

"Honey, they're after you," your mom said from beside you, running a hand over your back. "I'll be fine."

"They'll always be after me!" you shouted. The wind was continuing to pick up, and the raindrops were falling just a little harder. "And they'll always be after Dad and those damn codes. I know what to do...."

"No," said Boba, wrenching his arm from your grasp and punching something into the panel on his wrist cuff. "You'll both take the jetpack, and my helmet. I just put the coordinates of the ship in. I'll go do whatever it is that will stop them from following."

"You don't understand," you said, despite him ignoring you and beginning to undo the straps on his helmet. "There is only one way they stop coming for me."

He lifted his helmet off, grimacing at the stench in the air. He continued laying out his idea as if you hadn't said anything. "I left instructions on how to fly the Slave I in the cockpit just in case it came down to something like this. And there's coordinates in the helmet for a rendezvous point. I'll meet you there later."

He was trying to hand you his helmet so he could work on freeing himself of the jetpack, already out of breath from the toxic air. But something inside you had snapped. You were tired, and you were tired of being tired. You were _done_. Seeing him and your mom side-by-side, two people you loved dearly, who were ready to do whatever it took to protect you... There was no way you could live with yourself if anything happened to either one of them. They were all you had left.

This would not be their end, it would be yours. Specifically, the end of the galaxy's most valuable bounty.

"_Listen_," you said with an amount of finality that made him and your mom finally look at you. "They need the codes to operate the portal. But they also need that generator, right?"

Your mom nodded.

"So I blow up the generator."

"_I _will blow it up," Boba insisted.

"No." You finally grabbed his helmet from him, pulling off your own gas mask and tossing it his way. You took a few steps back toward the vent, showing that you were serious and time was of the essence. "It has to be me. I can hide long enough so they'll think I died in the explosion. You can't collect a bounty on someone who no longer exists."

Boba and your mom shared a look, checking if the other had any ideas to counter yours. They both seemed ready to start challenging you, grasping at any straws they could, but you held Boba's helmet to your chest and bit back your tears.

"I'm not running anymore," you said. "I'll find a way out and meet you at the rendezvous when it's safe."

You had been cautious to phrase your plan so that it sounded like there was hope, that you knew what you were doing and would be okay. It'd be the only way for them to let you do it. But all you knew was there were uncertainties, things you couldn't predict or control. You could very well never see them again.

But if you couldn't win your freedom, at least you'd give them theirs.

"Here." Your mom was the first to acquiesce, handing over the monitor and then pulling you in for a hug. "I love you."

You merely nodded in her arms, knowing if you said the words back, you'd only fall apart. She let you go and stood beside Boba. He was blinking at you and scowling as hard as you'd ever seen him.

"We're better together," you could barely hear him rasp above the wind. His last attempt to convince you otherwise.

You put his helmet on, wanting to hide your own sadness from him. "Don't worry," you said in reassurance, tapping the visor. "You'll still be my eyes."

* * *

You clambered up the vent, a little awkwardly, but eventually made it back into the closet room. Your music was still blasting through the intercom speakers, a different, more subdued song now playing. There was banging over the top of the music from behind the locked door as some hunters tried to bust their way in. The monitor you'd brought with you showed three of them clustered at the door.

You forced yourself to pause, resting on your haunches from where you'd climbed out of the floor. You took Boba's helmet off and held it in your lap while you took a few steadying breaths of your own air.

His helmet was something you'd become very familiar with, back when it'd been the only part of his identity you'd known. Every paint chip, every scratch and dent, every contour... You ran your hand over it briefly, wondering if you'd ever see the man it had once masked again. Perhaps you should have kissed him, just in case.

A crackling sound like fire came from the door as the hunters tried a different tactic to get through. You put the helmet back on over your damp hair, taking another moment to get familiar with the way it felt and how it changed your view. The T-shaped visor limited your peripheral sight, but there were sensors and other readings that helped you instead. It was similar to the old stormtrooper helmet you'd once worn on Jakku, only this one smelled like Boba.

You quickly grabbed a gun from one of the shelves, cursing how he never had gotten around to teaching you to properly shoot. The door swung open as the hunters finally made it through the lock. You didn't give any of them a chance to know what had hit them, firing rounds through the opening at anything that moved. The gun was silent, barely making a popping noise as you pulled the trigger. The three figures crumbled over each other in the doorway. There were no visible injuries on any of the bodies from where you'd shot at them, so you weren't sure what kind of gun it was. You'd never imagined yourself a killer and tried to pretend they weren't actually dead.

The song on the intercom changed to something more upbeat now, snapping you back to reality. You looked at the monitor, noting six were left out on the platform, in between you and the generator. There was also a mass of heat signatures approaching in the hallway. Something about their formation made you believe they were stormtroopers.

You leapt over the bodies in the doorway and went for the box your mom had been carrying earlier, filled with little metal balls that looked like grenades. You put a few in your pockets.

You also went for the gun that Hondo had mentioned as having a "missile" setting. You played around with one of the dials on the side, turning it to what seemed to be the highest charge. The barrel hummed in your hands and grew warm. It certainly _sounded _like it'd pack a punch, so you turned the dial back off and shouldered the weapon.

You were as ready as you could be in such a situation. Before you could talk yourself out of anything, you strode down the hall a few paces, pulling up at the glass doors that led outside. You punched the button to make them swoosh open, letting in a dramatic gust of wind and rain.

The hunters were spaced out on the platform and they all turned toward you as soon as they heard the doors open.

"Boba Fett!" one of them exclaimed in surprise, its voice warbled in a weird accent.

"Oh no. It's not Fett... it's _her_," said the man who was standing closest to you. It was the one who'd seen you in the ravine earlier, and the only one of the group who hadn't thought to wear some kind of mask or helmet. You immediately knew where you recognized him from. It was Elon, the traitor from Maz's palace. Apparently she hadn't succeeded in finding and punishing him after all.

You would need at least one witness of your death - fake or real, whichever you could manage first. But it didn't need to be this bastard. You decided you weren't going to feel guilty if your weapons were deadly, not after how he'd treated Maz. He was breathing heavily from the foul air, but still insisted on talking. You weren't listening to a single word. You pressed the button on one of the devices in your pocket and then brought it out and flung at the ground in front of him.

It detonated with a satisfying _bang_ and a large puff of smoke swirled all around the area of the platform that had now cracked and was starting to slide down into the ravine. Thankfully, two of the other hunters had been close enough themselves, and went hurtling down with Elon into the smoky debris.

You didn't dwell on any of this, though, only registering the aftermath from the corner of your visor as you rushed outside. You held the gun to your chest and tried to run as fast as you could without losing traction on the slippery surface of the platform. You hadn't realized how large it was, how far you'd have to go to get close to the metallic cylinder that jutted out from the cliffside and into the air.

Your only strategy was to run, hoping the hunters would still only try to capture you and not kill you. But the three remaining were on you fast, shooting out cables and firing stun guns in an effort to incapacitate you. One of them moved in your way, whipping out some kind of staff with a pink electrical charge at the end and poising to swing. You let yourself fall onto one haunch, sliding through the rain and under their aim, thrusting your gun out at their legs to throw them off balance.

You managed to grab their staff as you pushed yourself back up, just in time to swing it at another hunter that had approached. It grazed their side painfully, sending them sprawling on the ground, but not before they had kicked you down, too. The gun and the staff went clattering out of your grasp, sliding in different directions.

A boot came down on the staff. You looked up to see the last of the mercenaries pick it up and twirl it, sauntering over to you with an air of cockiness.

"Dryden's missed you," she drawled through her dark helmet. You weren't certain it was the Crimson Dawn woman you'd once fought on Jakku, but you had a feeling it was. "He'll be pleased to have taken one of Fett's bounties yet again."

She held the staff at your throat. You could feel the static buzzing just beneath the lip of the helmet.

"Where is that little bounty hunter? Is this his pathetic attempt to protect you?" She tapped the side of the helmet, the electricity causing the display inside to twitch and falter. You shook your head away from it and she laughed.

"I took it from him," you said, your voice sounding foreign through the helmet. It made you sound more confident than you felt. "Just like he took away my freedom."

For whatever it was worth, you wanted to keep up the appearance that you had been Boba's prisoner this whole time. There could be no doubt in anyone's mind that he had only come here as another bounty hunter trying to capture you. He'd need to keep his reputation, his livelihood, especially if you didn't make it back to him.

"The Empire took something from me, too," you continued. "So if you'll excuse me, I'd like to return the favor."

The woman laughed again. "Crimson Dawn isn't interested in hurting the Empire. On the contrary, we'd like to do business with them." She twirled the staff away from you, stepping aside to look behind her at the squadron of stormtroopers that had at some point appeared in the entrance of the platform. She shouted, "What do you say, Krennic?"

Orson Krennic stood in front of his troops, hands crossed calmly in front of him. You were quite a ways away from them, almost to the end of the platform. You slowly shifted your position on the ground, curling your fingers around another grenade in your pocket, preparing to make a break for it as soon as you found an opportunity.

"I say that the Empire has had enough of this nonsense," Krennic replied. "You will step away from the girl and leave this planet at once, or else your syndicate alone will be held responsible for the destruction here."

The woman lowered the staff back to your throat again. "You ought to listen to our terms, first."

Krennic flicked a hand out and the first row of troopers raised their guns. "Kill the girl first if you wish, but you will leave immediately. This is the last time I'll say it."

You could see fear in the woman's posture as she realized she had no bargaining chip. Your own heart was hammering away in your chest from Krennic's words. You were useless to him now. He would have his soldiers fire at her and then you within a second. You'd have to time your distraction just right, just long enough to get to the gun.

The woman huffed and stepped aside, letting the staff fall right beside her leg.

"Smart girl," Krennic said. He flicked his hand again, this time as a signal for the troopers to collect you. You watched as they stepped forward, lowering their guns slightly. Their guard was down. Your chance had come.

You did multiple things at once. Your arm hoisted the grenade into the air, sending it as far across the platform as you could get it. And your leg kicked out at the staff, the pink tendrils of electricity hitting the woman's calf and causing her whole frame to spasm. And then you rolled, pushing yourself up to start running as best you could manage in the now pouring rain.

Blaster shots rang out through air. You didn't risk looking behind to see how much damage your grenade had done, and clearly it hadn't been enough to stop all of the stormtroopers from firing after you. Their shots hit the platform around you; one hit the backside of your helmet. You were already stumbling forward, still tying to gain your footing. The blast threatened to send you sprawling, so you used the momentum to take one last leap toward the gun just in front of you.

You landed on it, rolled over it, and brought the butt of it to your shoulder as you swung yourself up onto one knee.

You turned the dial, watching the barrel glow in response.

You aimed it at the generator above you.

In the distance, through the continued shots from the stormtroopers and the downpour of rain that had already soaked through to your bones, you could hear Orson Krennic cry out, a pitiful _No!_

You pulled the trigger.

A bright ball of a blast fired out of the gun, straight for the generator. The kickback sent you falling backward just as a shot from one of the troopers clipped you in the shoulder. Your helmet smacked onto the platform, your body contorted painfully beneath you. You weren't able to see how the generator reacted to your shot, only the dark, stormy sky above.

There was a moment of quietness, of calmness. You knew it wasn't possible, but your head was throbbing and you couldn't think why. Maybe there was music playing softly in the distance, or maybe you were imagining it. All you knew was a bright, orange cloud of light, like fire, was crawling across the sky.

You could feel yourself falling gently, as if you were floating down into the depths of a lake. You couldn't feel anything else, couldn't make sense of anything that was happening. The only thing you could think about was Boba, and how you wished you had kissed him good-bye.

And then everything went black.


	31. Home

You fell endlessly. Indefinitely.

Down, down, down.

There was darkness and there was silence.

There was pain.

But most significantly, there was emptiness.

You were alone, you realized, before falling again.

You came to that realization over and over, each time your breath growing heavier, your heart becoming smaller. You couldn't stand it.

You let yourself fall one last time.

* * *

When you woke for real, all you could feel at first was the helmet on your head. It pressed against your temples securely and held an amount of warmth that the rest of your body didn't seem to have. You tapped at the visor, the night vision display flickering a few times before coming into focus.

There was no sky above you, only a mess of rubble and pipes. You couldn't tell where you were or how far you had fallen. Only that you were alive.

You gulped in a panic, wanting to test your limbs and functions, unsure what the damage was. That's when you became aware that your shoulder was in a sling across your chest, and that your body was laying on something soft.

"Easy there, little missy," came a familiar voice beside you as soon as you tried to sit up. A hand guided you to lay back down, and then the wrinkled face of Hondo Ohnaka appeared above you with a small smile.

You blinked in confusion, unable to remember what had happened after you'd fired that gun. You turned your head around, seeing that you were laying on some sort of blanket. A long, mirrored pod hovered just beside you, within the the space of rubble that had conveniently fallen at angles against each other. Boxes were strewn about, random contents dumped alongside them. Quadoro was tinkering with something in a panel on the pod.

"Those things are a nightmare fit into, even trickier to pilot," Hondo explained. "We fumbled around the cliffs for a while, and then saw your little explosion. And by little, I mean big. I don't know what you were trying to do, missy, but you're lucky we were there to break your fall."

You swallowed a few times, looking for your voice. "I was trying to... end it. All of it."

Hondo cocked his head at you and hummed. "Well, that's one way to do it, I suppose."

You weren't sure why, but you suddenly found yourself laughing. It started as a chuckle and then turned into an uncontrollable fit of laughter that shook your entire body and brought tears out of your eyes. Hondo couldn't help but giggle along, though he was clearly worried you'd lost all of your sanity.

"Did you hit your head too hard?" he asked, trying to get you to lay back down again. You'd sat up, curled slightly inward as you rode out your last wave of laughter, and waved him off so you could enjoy the feeling.

It was like a lifetime of worry and frustration and fear had finally been released. Everything that had built inside of you these past couple of months, trapping itself deep inside and threatening to push you down forever. All gone. Your plan had worked, and even though you'd been prepared to go down with it, you hadn't. You were alive.

You were free.

As you caught your breath, Quadoro wiggled out from under the pod and came over. "Alright, trackers should be disabled now."

"Should be, or they are?" Hondo asked, still looking at you with concern. "If everyone thinks this girl is dead, we need to keep it that way."

"They are," Quadoro asserted.

"Good, good." Hondo held onto your upper arm, the one that wasn't wounded, and made to help you stand up. "Let's get her back to her family, now."

* * *

You rested most of the way, paying no mind to Hondo's incessant backtracking and detours, and the subsequent extra time it added to the trip. He was taking no chances, and after you'd just taken the biggest risk of your life, you appreciated his efforts.

Eventually, you found yourself being dropped off at the coordinates from Boba's helmet. It was a beach, pristine and deserted, save for the ship parked on the coastline, and the two people waiting for you by the water. Hondo and Quadoro gave you another salute before heading off to have a drink in the nearby town, not wanting to intrude on your reunion.

You first took off your shoes, relishing in the feeling of warm sand between your toes as you stepped out onto the beach. Waves lapped beside you and seagulls called out above you. You weren't sure what planet this was, but you knew Boba had picked it specially for you.

It was your mom that got your first hug, not having the patience for your strolling,running up to meet you instead. Your shoulder was out of the sling, but still bandaged and sore, so you cradled Boba's helmet beneath it and returned her embrace with your other arm.

"I did it, Mom," you said through her hair as it blew across your face in the breeze. "The generator's gone. No more portals. They won't need to look for you or Dad anymore."

She pulled back and held the sides of your face, just as she had back on Eadu.

"I'm very proud of you," she whispered, her eyes bright with tears. "But I'm even more relieved that you're okay."

You nodded, your gaze flicking behind her to where Boba stood off to the side. He had changed into fresh clothes, slacks and a white shirt that made his skin seem even darker. His hands were in his pockets and he was gazing out at the ocean.

When you looked back at your mom, she had a smirk.

"I told him he could come with us," she said. She moved a hand over the helmet you still had under your arm, rubbing some of the dirt off absentmindedly. "But I think he'd rather stay out of it... do his own thing...."

"Come with us?" you echoed her words.

"To find your father. And any of the others who are still out there. I have some ideas where they might be. It's time for our family to be back together again."

You looked down at the sand, wiggling your toes in and out of the grains. Your rings caught the sunlight as they moved around. Gold and silver. Old and new.

You'd envisioned a future with Boba, agreed to start a new life with him once you got your questions answered. But you'd made that assurance when you'd thought your past was behind you, before you'd known your family was still alive. Did that change anything? Would you need to rework those plans?

"Of course...," your mom drew your gaze back up, "it will take some time to track them all down. And who knows... maybe they've all found ways to move on... like you have."

She smiled at you, the kind of motherly smile that let you know no matter what choices you made, you'd always have her love.

You were glad she was alive, that you weren't as alone in this big, crazy galaxy as you had once thought. But even if your life hadn't ended up this way, if you had stayed on your planet and remained none the wiser to all the other peoples and experiences out in that unknown space, there would've come a time where you would've moved on anyway. You would've grown and learned and lived a life of your own creation. And that's exactly what you still intended to do.

Your family and your past would always be a part of you. But now you had more. More to explore, more to learn, and more to love.

Your mom knew that, just as she seemed to know everything. Her eyes squinted playfully.

"Do you think Hondo would be willing to help me out?" she asked, looking off in the direction he'd left. "Seems like he'd be a fun travel partner."

You laughed. "Probably. Just don't double cross him. He has a thing about honor."

"Well it's settled, then." She tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. "We'll keep in touch, hun. This won't be good-bye... just a simple, _see you later_."

You nodded and went in for another hug. "See you soon."

* * *

You saddled up to Boba, brushing your arm against his. You looked up at him as he gazed out at the ocean. His skin glistened in the sunshine, his curls rustled in the breeze. You weren't sure why you had ever stopped yourself from finding him attractive.

"I'm sorry," you said, finally turning toward the water yourself. Waves rolled gently from the horizon toward the shore, its foamy remnants eventually lapping up to tickle your toes. "I'm sorry I played that song and I'm sorry I didn't stick to the plan and I'm sorry that I yelled at you and worried you and almost didn't even come back to you."

He stood tall, his muscles pleasantly taught against his shirt, and yet it was the most relaxed you'd ever seen him. He didn't answer you right away, but when he did, his voice was quiet.

"Your mom told me about everything. To think I was working for your parents this whole time." He chuckled once and finally turned to face you. "I'm really happy for you. I'm glad you have a chance to start over and be with your family again."

He really believed you would leave him, that you would go back on every promise you'd made to him. He wasn't relaxed; he was sad.

You shook your head and let his helmet fall into the sand by your feet, wrapping your hands around the back of his neck. "Dumbass, you're my family now."

You kissed him, just as you wished you had in that ravine. His lips were warm and pliant, and after a second of hesitancy on his side, he finally wrapped his arms around you and pulled you up to him, kissing you back properly. You hoped your mom's attention was occupied elsewhere as you expressed every ounce of love you had for this man.

When you broke, breathless, you could tell he had let go of his sadness and was allowing himself to be happy - or at least, as happy as his frown lines would let him appear. You kissed at the particularly prominent crease in between his eyebrows, causing his face to scrunch up even more.

"I love you," you said.

He set you down and just looked at you for a while. You could see his throat bobbing as he struggled to swallow a few times. Was he going to cry? Was your fearless bounty hunter finally acting emotional?

But after a moment more, he nodded, as if finally accepting your words as not only truth, but also something he was deserving of. "I love you, too."

You liked hearing him say your name, and when he uttered it again, softly and delicately, you got a little chill up your spine.

"Hey, careful," he said suddenly, his gaze having noticed something on the ground. He dipped down to pick up his helmet as the incoming tide crept ever further up the bank.

"I like this thing," you said as he brought it between you, shaking off some sand. "I think I'll keep it."

He shot you a look, making you giggle. "You can get your own."

"But it helped save my life. It's a matter of sentiment now." You cocked your head playfully at him.

"Whatever," he huffed, pretending to be annoyed. "Maybe we'll share it."

He bent down to kiss you again, smiling the whole way through.

* * *

You woke up, blinking slowly at your surroundings. There was the familiar paneling of the Slave I's interior, the dim glow of its lights, the gentle hum of its engines. Things you had seen and heard and been around for long enough, but were just now coming into focus in a way that made you feel like you were really, truly noticing it all for the first time.

In the back of your mind, a few simple thoughts repeated themselves, as they often did when things were quiet... You were free. Your family was alive. Everything was okay.

There was a warmth beside you. You turned slightly, finding yourself nestled alongside Boba Fett. One of his arms was stretched out under your neck, the other draped lazily across your body. His chest rose and fell in a simple rhythm by your head. His face was relaxed and serene.

You reached up to graze your fingers along his hairline, brushing aside his curls. His eyes fluttered open, a sleepy smile sneaking across his face. He turned to lay on his back, wrapping his arm around your shoulders to bring you with him.

Your head rested on his chest, taking in the steadiness of his heartbeat beneath you. He was here. He was yours. But an even more powerful realization overcame you, making your heart swell full. You grinned against his chest and felt him smiling into your hair in return.

You were home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End!
> 
> Thank you to all who enjoyed this story! Your comments and kudos mean so much to me, you have no idea. :)) This was quite the adventure of a story to write and share and I'm very emotional now that I'm finished with it. But there's always another story to tell, right? :D I'd love to keep writing and posting things. Not sure how messages work around here?? but if you have suggestions or prompts or requests or anything, I'm happy to oblige. Otherwise, I'll come up with something soon.


	32. BONUS: The De-Helmeted Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psych! Not quite done yet... wanted a chance to briefly tap into Boba's perspective before officially leaving this story. I was very glad this scene got a few requests, it was pretty fun to rewrite in Boba's voice!
> 
> Enjoy!

It was a warm, bustling evening in the little village on Jedha, and Boba Fett was not happy about it.

He couldn't remember the last time his stress levels had been this high. Every corner that was turned, every person that walked by, every sound and small reflection of sunlight made him grip the gun beneath his cloak just a little tighter. Everything was a possible threat for the girl that walked beside him. He felt more like a bodyguard than a bounty hunter. He sure missed the days when these jobs were simpler. What he wouldn't give for a nice bail jumper right now....

The girl wandered down one street and up the next, and he tried to be patient as he followed along. If he'd had his way, they would've stayed inside that crummy hotel all day, where he had set up booby traps and other counter measures to prevent anyone from getting near. But the girl reminded him of a kitten exploring the world for the first time, full of curiosity and unwarranted confidence. He hadn't been able to leave her in that cage for too long back when she was his prisoner, and he certainly wasn't going to try reigning her in now that he'd more or less freed her.

He wasn't sure why he'd agreed to let her out and work with him. Just like he wasn't sure why his heart rate went up every time Hondo commented on her prettiness, or why he had spent ten minutes the night before trying to pick out clothes for her. Were all girls like this? He didn't interact with many in this line of work, just a few that were more like psychopaths than women.

Adding to his stress was also the fact he had to walk around without his trusty armor. He was ashamed to admit he'd grown too accustomed to it, to the point where he felt naked without it. He hadn't always worn armor, hadn't always been this closed off and paranoid. There were still a few of his old bounty hunting mates who had survived and could very well be scavenging for work in these parts. What if he was the one who got recognized? What if the girl ended up in danger because of him?

How he'd been able to sleep so heavily last night with such troubling thoughts, he wasn't sure. God, he wasn't sure about so many things. And all because of this girl.

Eventually the sun set and a chill rang through the air, creating the perfect excuse to finally go back to the hotel. Boba's pace unintentionally picked up in anticipation. The sooner they got back, the sooner they could sleep through the night, and the sooner they'd then be off to the shipyard. He had sent a message to Maz to meet them there as part of plan he'd worked out a few days ago. It was the only reason he'd agreed to come here with Hondo. He was actually rather proud of himself for coming up with it; it worked out on so many levels. He could settle his debt to Maz, stay on Hondo's good side in case he ever needed the slimy pirate's help again, and ensure the girl was protected while he looked for this elusive client.

But then they came across a small plaza that was set up for dancing. Creatures moved about with each other under a canopy of twinkling lanterns. A band played in the corner, just switching their tune to something slow and sweet.

Boba looked down to see the girl swaying beside him. An overwhelming feeling came over him to sway with her. Without really thinking, he held out a hand and cleared his throat for her attention. He could see her eyes crinkling between the folds of the shawl over her face and it took every ounce of strength for him to keep his composure. How easy it was to make her happy.

How easily her happiness effected his own.

It was awkward at first. He hadn't really ever danced before, but he did enjoy music. It felt natural to move along with it. It was just the part about the girl standing to face him, settling her hands on the top of his shoulders, looking up at him as if no one else was around... that part he didn't know how to handle.

So he looked away, falling into his comforting habit of tracking the people around him. He still didn't notice anyone he recognized or who seemed like they were up to no good. Everyone was enjoying themselves. It was an odd sight to take in, this little desert town reveling in simple pleasures amidst a galaxy devastated by Imperial occupation. It always surprised him to find such little pockets of liveliness.

"Can I ask you something?" the girl spoke unexpectedly. "I mean, if I asked you a question, would you give me an honest answer?"

He turned to look at her with raised eyebrows, trying not to panic at what she could possibly want him to tell her.

"Depends on the question," he said slowly.

Did she want to know why he'd agreed to Hondo's stupid plan? Was she curious about the Jedi and the Holy City? Would she ask more about his father?

_Oh dear God_, he thought with a twist of his stomach, _don't let it be about my father_...

Her voice was quiet but earnest. "Why did you wait? You said on Jakku that you saw me come through the portal. So why did you let me run around for three days before capturing me?"

Well he certainly hadn't expected _that_. Had those thoughts really been on her mind this whole time? He hadn't realized he'd even mentioned it. The whole situation on Jakku had been a real shit-show; he knew he'd argued with her but couldn't recall exactly what he said. Why did it matter to her anyway?

"I wasn't expecting you." He figured he might as well give her the honest answer she was wanting, though he did feel a little embarrassed as the words actually started coming out. "In this business, the higher the price, the more unpleasant the bounty. Sure, I was given your description. But seeing you was something else. You were just _normal_. I wanted to watch you, just to be sure I wasn't missing something. You weren't bad, fending for yourself like that. But I couldn't wait forever and it was clear you weren't special, so then I moved in."

Oops. That hadn't sounded right.

"I meant," he stuttered out quickly, "not that you aren't special... just, you know... not..."

He wasn't sure what he was trying to say. Why was he nervous all of a sudden?

"Unpleasant?" she said with a knowing and playful look in her eyes. Her eyes were the only thing he could see, framed by a dark shawl and dancing with the amber glow of lanterns. And he was suddenly conscious of the fact that she was _looking_ at him. The real him, not the helmeted hunter the rest of the galaxy knew. What did she see, he wondered?

"You have your moments," he finally said. "But generally, no, you're not unpleasant."

She was so much more than that. She was normal, but the kind that put him at ease. The kind that made all the craziness of the galaxy seem insignificant. Like an anchor in a storm, grounding him to a world that didn't need to be as complicated as he sometimes made it.

She was good and kind and brave and easygoing and fun and beautiful.

She _was_ special.

He gulped. Had he stepped closer, or had she? Were they even technically dancing anymore? He should probably do another scan of the area to make sure no one had snuck up in the last few minutes. But it was like he was frozen, entranced. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but at the same, it was like he couldn't think at all.

But then her eyes were no longer locked with his, blinking off into some middle distance where he couldn't follow. He blinked himself, trying to focus in the dimness of the lights and clear his mind.

He had gotten much too carried away. It must have been all that extra sleep he got, messing with his head. A guy like him didn't have room in his life for special. He didn't need her....

Right?

"Are you okay?" he asked, needing her to say something, to help him get out of his own head.

She shook her head and stopped moving. "I'm just tired."

She drew her hands down from around his neck and stepped back. She was troubled about something, he was able to read that much from her. But he didn't press; he never did. He knew what it was like to lose family and home and purpose. Except, when he'd been in that dark place, the galaxy had wanted nothing to do with him. He'd had to make his own path, his own name.

Not this girl. She had nothing to prove. And as she turned to face away, he realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that maybe she didn't need him, either.

That was fine, he told himself. It would be that much easier when he finally collected the bounty on her head and walked away. He just had to ignore the part of himself that still hoped she saw him differently after all. The part that didn't want to walk away.


End file.
